Uzumaki Naruto, Genin Of Team Ten
by Ino-Fangirl55
Summary: What if, because of a conflict, Naruto was chosen to be on Squad Ten, instead of Squad Seven. How big of a difference would it make if he had a team that actually believed in teamwork, and a sensei that actually trained them equally? NarutoxIno
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and anyone else in the Naruto universe don't belong to me.**

**UZUMAKI NARUTO, GENIN OF TEAM TEN**

**CHAPTER 1: A SIMPLE CHANGE**

Uzumaki Naruto sat on pins and needles. Today was the day of the Genin Exam, an exciting day for most, however more so for Naruto. Clad in his usual attire of a bright orange jumpsuit, he ran a hand through his spiky blonde hair. His deep blue eyes, resembling the most beautiful sapphire, gleamed with anticipation. The boy was sure that this was the year he would graduate. He had always heard that the third time was the charm, so surely this would not be any different. He adjusted the goggles that hung around his forehead, making sure that they were straight. Naruto wasn't sure why, but he felt that he should look his absolute best for today. After all, when one becomes a shinobi of Konohagakure, they represent the entire village. He felt his heart rate begin to rise, when the classroom door opened and the two teachers of the class walked inside, Unimo Iruka and his assistant Mizuki.

Iruka looked about the room, smiling weakly as he spotted Naruto grinning at him. It was a fox-like grin, possibly because of the six whisker-like marks that were on his face, three on each cheek. Iruka rubbed the back of his neck, sighing as he made his way towards the front of the room. He was wearing the typical attire of the Konohagakure shinobi, which consisted of a blue jumpsuit, a green flack vest overtop of it, and a pair of blue shinobi sandals. He had a hitai-ate with the symbol of Konoha tied around his forehead, and a faint scar that went across the bridge of his nose. His brown hair was pulled back, to keep it out of his eyes. Mizuki was dressed much the same. The only exception being that he was not wearing a hitai-ate at the time, and he had long, shoulder length, white hair. The class was whispering and talking amongst themselves as the two Chuunin reached the front of the class. If one listened closely, they could hear it was about the test, wondering just what kind of challenge awaited them. Iruka cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the entire class, but none more so than Naruto.

"Konichiwa, everyone." he greeted. "I'm sure you are all excited today, as you will be taking the exam that will promote you all from ordinary academy students, to Genin and official shinobi of Konoha." The class began to whisper and such with anticipation, but Iruka cleared his throat again, regaining their attention. "Now, for the exam Mizuki and I will call you down one by one into the room behind me. Once there, you will have to perform the Bunshin jutsu, and make two perfect Bunshin."

Once again, the class began to whisper with excitement. Most of the conversations were about how easy this exam was going to be. However, one of the students did not think so and that student was Naruto. The boy's excitement suddenly turned into dread, and he had a sick feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Out of all the jutsu that Iruka had taught the class, why did it have to be the Bunshin jutsu? It was Naruto's worst skill! He began to rock back and forth in his chair, as one by one Iruka would call a member of the class forward and into the designated room. A moment later, the student would emerge. In their hand would be a shiny new hitai-ate. Just looking at that thing made Naruto lick his lips. He wanted to be a shinobi so bad… He had to be one to obtain his dream! However, he had to conquer the exam first. He felt his heart jump when Mizuki walked back from the back room. In his hands was a clipboard, with a list containing the names of the students in the class. He looked at the list and smiled as he looked back up into the room.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Mizuki called. "Please come with me."

Naruto nodded, and made his way to the front of the room. As he walked down the stairs, he noticed various students pointing and whispering. His eyes darkened just a bit, but one would not notice this unless they actually took the time to stare deeply into them. He walked past Mizuki, who was holding the door open for the boy and then made his way into the room as well. Iruka seemed to be writing something down, and looked up with a friendly smile as Naruto stepped into the center of the room.

"Alright, Naruto… Are you ready for the exam?" Iruka asked.

"Hai! Bring it on!" Naruto replied while grinning in the process. His smile was foolproof, and impossible to see through. Even though he seemed excited though, he couldn't be more nervous. "This is gonna be a piece of cake, Iruka-sensei!"

"Alright, calm down…" the Chuunin sighed. "Now remember, the exam is to perform the Bunshin jutsu. All you have to do is make two perfect Bunshin, and you pass."

Naruto nodded and began to focus his chakra. He focused his mind on the jutsu, and the image of two perfect copies of himself standing behind him. A puff of smoke exploded in the room. As the smoke cleared, Naruto slowly turned around looking behind himself in anticipation. He was hoping, no praying that the two Bunshin would be behind him and smiling. However, he was let down. There were not two of the clones behind him, but rather only one. It didn't look to good, either. It was pale and sickly, sprawled out on the floor and moaning in pain. His stomach suddenly felt a lot sicker.

"Gomen, Naruto…" Iruka began. "But… You fail."

"Come now, Iruka-san… Couldn't we let him pass?" Mizuki suddenly asked. "I mean, he did technically make one Bunshin…"

Naruto was surprised by Mizuki's sudden urge to stick up for him. He had never truly cared for the man much. Something about him just seemed untrustworthy. Up until this moment, Naruto was pretty sure the man didn't care for him much either. He had never made any attempt to show Naruto that at any rate. Naruto looked a bit hopeful, turning back to Iruka.

"No, Mizuki." Iruka replied. "We can't let him pass if that is the best he can do. He would only be a burden to others… and put himself at risk. He cannot pass."

Naruto felt his heart sink and break into pieces. He didn't wait a single moment as he quickly turned around and ran out of the room and academy all together. Iruka sighed and rose out of his seat, preparing to go after the boy.

"No… I'll go after him." Mizuki said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know how it feels… I didn't pass the exam in one try after all. You take continue on with the remaining tests. I'll take care of Naruto."

"Arigato, Mizuki…" Iruka replied.

Meanwhile, Naruto could be found sitting on a lone swing in the academy's school yard. Before stood him several students and their parents. Each of them congratulated their children. They knew that they were loved… They were respected… They had everything that Naruto ever wanted. He was about to hop of the swing and go get something to eat. Ramen sounded really good to him right about now. However, as he began to get off the swing, he noticed two women looking over their shoulders at him and talking to each other.

"Isn't that…" one of them began.

"Hai… I heard he didn't pass this year. That makes it the third time in a row." the other woman said.

"Just as well." the first woman snorted. "Can you imagine if they let someone like HIM become a shinobi?"

Naruto felt a hint of anger rising. He felt like getting off that swing, and letting them know his opinion on the matter. However, as he began to do so, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He slowly looked up, and saw Mizuki smiling at him gently.

"Mizuki-sensei… What are you doing here?" Naruto asked. "Shouldn't you be in the class with Iruka-sensei and the ones who passed?"

"Maybe, but I thought it better to come make sure you were alright." Mizuki replied. He gestured to the grass beside the swing. "May I sit down?"

"Hai." Naruto answered.

"Don't be upset now, Naruto… Iruka-san was only looking out for your best interest." Mizuki explained. "I know it may seem like he's hard on you… But he's only that way because he cares."

"He could've at least given me another chance…" Naruto sighed, looking down at the ground.

"Well… It just so happened he did." Mizuki replied, a slight smirk on his face. Naruto's eyes widened at this, and he looked back up at the Chuunin. "It's true."

"Really? Iruka-sensei said I could have another chance?!" Naruto asked in an overly excited voice. "What is it? What do I have to do?!"

"Now, now… Calm down, Naruto…" Mizuki said quietly. "And I'll tell you all about it…"

Night slowly came to Konoha. The pale moonlight shone down on the village. The streets were empty, not a soul to be seen. Iruka was lying in bed, a frown on his face. He knew Naruto wanted to pass the exam, and he felt sorry for the boy. However, he knew that Naruto just couldn't pass, not without being able to at least do the basics. He sighed and slowly sat up, gazing at the clock on the wall. It was late, a little after midnight and yet the Chuunin just couldn't sleep. He was about to go get some warm tea, to see if that would help, when there was a sudden knock at the door. Iruka wasn't sure who it could possibly be, especially when it was this late. Perhaps it was just Naruto playing a prank on him, wanting to get back for not being able to pass the exam. He climbed out of bed, and walked to the front door. To his surprise, it was not a prank when he opened the door. It wasn't even Naruto. Rather, it was a fellow shinobi of the village… A Jounin to be exact. He had long, red hair that he kept pulled back into a ponytail. He had emerald green eyes, and wore an outfit similar to Iruka's, except the jumpsuit was black instead of blue.

"Haruno Kazuhiko?" Iruka asked. A slight yawn escaped the mouth of the Chuunin. "What are you doing here so late?"

"We have trouble." he replied. "It was Uzumaki…"

Kazuhiko need not say anything else. Within a moment, Iruka had his sandals on, and the two were racing to the Hokage's Tower. It turned out that Naruto had broken into the tower, and taken a scroll from the office of the Sandaime. It wasn't just any scroll though. It was a very valuable one, one that contained many high-level jutsu, and some of them were forbidden too. No one was quite sure how the boy had managed to acquire the scroll. In fact, the old man had refused to go into such details. He simply stressed two things of importance. One was to bring back Naruto and the scroll. The second thing was to do so without harming the boy, and the Sandaime did his best to emphasize this point. Many shinobi seemed to protest this fact. Naruto was a bit of a prankster, and they felt that he was always causing nothing, but trouble for the village. Many had felt that he had gone way too far this time. It only took a glare and a clearing of throat from the old man to silence the protests though. The shinobi gathered around him, and took off into the village to search for Naruto.

Iruka and Kazuhiko quickly made their way through the village. Having taught Naruto and deal with his pranks for most of the boy's academy career, the Chuunin had managed to get a good deal of knowledge on where his hang-outs were. They checked the Hokage Monument, a set of faces sculpted in the likeness of the four Hokage in the village within the mountain that was located on the north end of the village. They checked Naruto's apartment. They even checked his favorite ramen stand. However, not a sign of the boy was to be found. As the two stopped for a moment, Iruka trying to think of where to look next.

"This is ridiculous…" Kazuhiko sighed. "If someone had just taken care of that monster years ago, none of this would have happened…"

"Perhaps… But the Hokage's orders are still orders." Iruka replied.

"Iruka, you can't be defending that thing!" Kazuhiko exclaimed. "You remember what we've lost because of it!"

"That is not the point right now!" Iruka replied. "Look, let's just get back to the search. Maybe we'll do better if we split up."

"Fine…" Kazuhiko sighed. "I'll take the left half of the village, and you take the right."

Iruka nodded and the two then split up. Iruka was feeling mixed feelings at that point, and was now nursing what he felt to be a bit of salt in an old wound. He bit his lip at the thought, but still kept moving. He needed to find Naruto first, and then think later. Suddenly, as he passed the ramen stand again. A thought occurred to him. There was one place in Konoha that no one had probably thought to look in yet, and that was the forest. He quickly ran through the village and to the said area. Iruka kept his eyes peeled as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch. He was hoping to find a sign… a clue… anything in relation to where Naruto's current location might be. Suddenly, he froze as a familiar cry filled the woods.

"Ha! I did it! I finally got it right!" the voice shouted.

"Naruto…" Iruka sighed. He quickly turned in the direction the shout had come from, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The Chuunin quickly reached a small clearing, frowning at the sight before him. Naruto was sitting against a tree, breathing heavily. He was dirty, sweaty, and looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion at any moment. "I finally found you… What are you doing out here?!"

"Konichiwa, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto replied happily. "I've been out here working really hard, and I'm ready to finally pass that exam!"

Iruka's eyes widened as he looked at Naruto closely. The scroll he had taken from the Hokage was opened and sitting in his lap. That's when it fully hit him. This whole time that he and the other shinobi of the village had been searching for the boy, Naruto had been out here in the forest, working on his skills.

"Naruto… What are you doing with that scroll?" Iruka asked.

"Come on, you already know!" Naruto replied. Iruka gave him a curious look. "Remember? You told Mizuki-sensei that if I could get a hold of the scroll from the old man, learn and show you a technique from inside of it, you'd finally let me become a shinobi!"

"Mizuki?" Iruka asked. "He really told you that?"

"Hai!" Naruto cheered. "So, are you ready to see what I learned?!"

Iruka opened his mouth to speak once more, but he never got the chance. He looked out ahead, and saw a mass of kunai flying at the two. The Chuunin quickly shoved Naruto and the scroll out of the way, taking a majority of the attack for himself. Slowly, Naruto and Iruka looked up to see Mizuki chuckling at the sight. He was now wearing his hitai-ate on his head in the style of a bandana. A large shuriken was strapped to his back, and a cold look was in his eyes.

"Naruto…" the Chuunin began. "I don't know how Iruka found you so fast, but we need to hurry. Quickly, give me the scroll."

"The scroll?" Iruka asked. "What use do you have for it, Mizuki."

"Well, you won't be living past tonight… So I guess I can tell you." Mizuki replied. "There's a very powerful technique inside of it… A forbidden one at that… One that hasn't been used in about twelve years."

"You don't mean…" Iruka began with widened eyes. He quickly turned back to Naruto, panic beginning to set in. "Naruto! Whatever you do, don't listen to Mizuki! You can't let him have that scroll!"

"Nani?" Naruto asked in confusion. "Why not?"

"Naruto! Just do what I say and run!" Iruka shouted.

"Now, now… Don't you think the thing has a right to know, Iruka-san?" Mizuki asked with a chuckle. He said the man's name with a hint of venom in his voice. The glare in his eyes got colder as he looked at Naruto. "After all, it does have to do with him."

"Mizuki! Shut up!" Iruka shouted. "Naruto, hurry up and run!"

"No, Naruto!" Mizuki replied. "Listen to what I have to say. I'm sure that you've heard the story in class before… Of how the Yondaime sacrificed himself to save all of Konoha… How he sacrificed himself to kill the nine-tailed fox demon known as Kyuubi, right?"

"H-Hai…" Naruto answered. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Naruto, run away!" Iruka shouted.

"What would you do if I told you it was all a lie…" Mizuki began, both he and Naruto seeming to ignore Iruka. Naruto's eyes widened, and Mizuki continued. "You see, on that night our village was bound by a decree. It's one you wouldn't know, or any of the children of the village. This is because of what a dark and terrible secret it is. The Kyuubi was never killed that night… That is because you and it are one and the same… You are in fact the Kyuubi, Naruto."

"Mizuki, that's enough!" Iruka was now pleading.

"I said to shut up, Iruka!" Mizuki shouted. He turned back to Naruto and continued. "Surely you've noticed all the cold glares you get! How none of the adults will let their children near you, and you seem to be despised by all, no matter what you do?! It is because they know what you are, demon! You are the one that took the Yondaime away! You are the one who injured many of our own! You are the one who killed any that would get in your way… Such as Iruka's parents…"

"I said enough, Mizuki!" Iruka shouted.

"Look at that! He's angered! It's at you, demon!" Mizuki shouted at Naruto. He grabbed the large shuriken on his back and smiled. "Even noble Iruka lied to you, Naruto… He hates you too… No one will ever love you… No one will ever accept you!"

The man began to break into laughter as he tossed the shuriken straight at Naruto. The boy didn't move for a moment. He simply looked down at the ground, and then back up. His eyes widened as the shuriken was flying at him. He wanted to move, but his legs wouldn't respond. Naruto quickly closed his eyes, and braced for impact, but that impact never came. Instead, Naruto felt his body get shoved to the ground, and a body resting just above him. He slowly opened his eyes and turned around to see Iruka covering him, and Mizuki's shuriken sitting in his back.

"Naruto… Are you alright?" the Chuunin asked.

"Iruka-sensei… Why? Why did you do that?" Naruto asked.

"Because Mizuki is wrong, Naruto…" Iruka said. "You are not the Kyuubi… You are a boy… And it's taken me this long to realize it… You are alone, and you try so hard to train and strengthen your skills. I have nothing, but respect for you Naruto…"

"That's real sweet…" Mizuki sighed. "I'll make sure to tell everyone your thoughts once you die!"

"Leave him alone!" Naruto suddenly shouted. He crawled out from underneath Iruka, glaring at Mizuki with pure hate in his eyes. "I swear if you come anywhere close to him, I'll kill you!"

"Try your best… DEMON!" Mizuki shouted.

The man rushed forward with a kunai in hand, ready to strike at any moment. However, Naruto simply continued to glare. Iruka once more began to shout for Naruto to run, but once again the blonde ignored him. The Chuunin looked up at the blonde, and gasped as he thought he saw Naruto smirk at him. The blonde raised his hands up, forming a single hand sign. A large cloud of smoke exploded in the area, causing Mizuki to stop in his tracks. The man's eyes widened as a mass amount of what appeared to be Bunshin surrounded the entire area. The real Naruto was still remaining in front of Iruka. He slowly raised his hand, and pointed at Mizuki. The clones all jumped at the man, and before he could blink the man began to be mauled by the army of Naruto Bunshin. Iruka's eyes widened at the sight. Average Bunshin should not be able to actually touch a person like that. Slowly, the man rose to a sitting position, and looked at Naruto carefully. The clones all vanished, leaving Naruto, Iruka, and a pummeled Mizuki as the only ones in the area.

"Naruto… What technique did you just use?" Iruka asked.

"The scroll called it the Kage Bunshin jutsu." Naruto replied quietly. "I thought it would be hard to use, but for some reason it was easier than the normal Bunshin jutsu."

"I see…" Iruka sighed. "Naruto… Come here for a minute. I have something to give you."

The blonde nodded and slowly made his way to Iruka. The Chuunin smiled weakly, telling the blonde to close his eyes for a moment. Naruto looked at him in confusion for a moment, but still did as told. He heard some slight shifting around, and felt the top of his head being messed with some. He then heard Iruka tell him to open his eyes. Naruto once again obeyed. He saw the Chuunin smiling at him, but oddly Iruka's hitai-ate was gone. Naruto then gazed down, and saw his old goggles sitting in the man's hands… And yet, he still felt something resting across his forehead. Naruto slowly reached up, and felt the cold metal on the cloth around it. He smiled slowly, but widely.

"Congratulations, Naruto." Iruka told him. "You pass."

Iruka returned the scroll, and made sure Naruto got home safely. He now believed that he could get some sleep, but sighed as he looked up to the sky just in time to see the sun rising. As much as he wanted to sleep, it would have to wait. There was something else he had to do now, and the Chuunin did not have much time to do it in.

Across the village in the Hokage's Tower, a gathering of various Jounin was starting to take place. In front of them, sitting at his desk was the Sandaime. He too didn't get much sleep from the previous night's events, but he was doing his best to try and put it behind him. For now, he had other things to focus on, such as the assigning of the teams for this year's academy graduates. Normally, he had an instructor from the Shinobi Academy to help him with this, and this year it was planned to be Iruka. However, the old man doubted that the Chuunin would be coming, so he decided to have Kazuhiko take the man's place. It was a little after eight in the morning, and the meeting had yet to begin. Mainly because one of the Jounin scheduled to be there was still missing, one by the name of Hatake Kakashi. He was a Jounin that had a habit of being late, and even worse one of forming excuses for doing so. Finally, about twenty minutes after the meeting was supposed to start, he entered the Sandaime's office.

He had spiky silver hair, which hung slightly at an angle. He wore the standard shinobi attire of the blue jumpsuit and green flack vest. He wore his hitai-ate at an angle, covering his left eye completely. Kakashi also had a mask covering the lower half of his face.

"Gomen…" he said quietly and a bit lazily. "I would have been here sooner, but I took a wrong turn and found myself halfway to Sunagakure…"

"Please, Kakashi…" a female Jounin sighed. She had long, black hair and red eyes. She was wearing a dress that looked like it was made of a bandage like material. Underneath that was a red, one-sleeved shirt. Her hitai-ate was around her forehead. "That's a worse excuse than usual."

"Come now, Kurenai…" Kakashi sighed. "I assure you it's true."

"And I'm the Hokage's daughter…" another male Jounin replied. He wore an outfit just like Kakashi's save for the mask. His sleeves were rolled up though, and he had a cigarette in his mouth. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead like a bandana. "How about we just forget it this once, and start the meeting already?"

"I agree, Asuma." the Sandaime stated. He sighed, and lit his pipe. Taking a few puffs, he began to look through the papers on his desk. "Now, like every year, it is time to form this year's Genin squads. However, it will be slightly different this year…"

"How so?" Kakashi asked.

"Unlike the usual twenty-seven graduates, only twenty-six passed." Kazuhiko answered. A small smile appeared on his lips as he continued. "Uzumaki did not pass."

"I see…" Kakashi replied. "Well, no matter. I will take the squad with only two students."

"Just so you half less work to do?" Asuma asked. "Not that you ever…"

The man was cut off by the office door opening quickly. Every head turned to see Iruka breathing heavily, walking into the room with one more sheet of paper in his hand. He was still rather sorry looking, with bruises, cuts, and such on him, and it was obvious the man was in pain. However, he still kept moving, walking to the Hokage's desk. Iruka put a paper down on the desk and smiled weakly.

"Gomen… I did not mean to intrude, but… I had to give you this…" Iruka said.

"It is fine, but shouldn't you be resting, Iruka-san?" the Sandaime asked.

"My duty as a shinobi of the village and a teacher at the academy comes first." Iruka answered.

"I see…" the old man chuckled. He picked up the paper and looked it over, his eyes widening in the process. "This is…"

"Correct, Hokage-sama." Iruka replied. "This is the paperwork involving the final graduate for this year… Uzumaki Naruto."

"N-Nani?" Kazuhiko asked. "He failed, Iruka! Remember?"

"He did at first." Iruka answered. "But he mastered a new technique last night during that incident. The Kage Bunshin jutsu to be exact."

"Impossible!" Kazuhiko argued. "There's no way HE could learn that…"

"He can, and he did." the Hokage replied. "I saw the entire scene with my crystal ball. Now that we have the paper work to prove it, there are the correct number of graduates, exactly twenty-seven."

"Fine…" Kazuhiko muttered.

Several of the other Jounin in the room began to grumble and whisper among themselves. The Sandaime gave them a stern stare, however and once he cleared his throat, the talking and such ended.

"Iruka, you may be seated." the old man said. "Now, let's continue on. The first team we shall arrange will be team number seven. I have thought this over, and selected Hatake Kakashi to train this team."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." the said Jounin replied.

"Now then, for this team's first member I have selected Uchiha Sasuke. I feel that you should be able to tailor to his skills the best, seeing as you also posses the Sharingan. Now, as you all know, Uchiha Sasuke not only passed with amazing marks, but also as Rookie of the Year. Now, like always this means that we must put the bottom of the class with the best to balance out the strengths and weaknesses. So, we shall also put Uzumaki Naruto into this team as well. Now, this rounds out the power and skills, but the team also needs a smart mind. After all, a strong mind is needed as well as power. For that reason, I believe that Haruno Sakura will fit this team well."

The sound of a chair falling over could be heard. Eyes shifted over to see Kazuhiko slowly pulling himself to his feet, but a look of pure anger and dread in his eyes. He walked towards the Hokage's desk, and slammed his hand down in anger.

"No. No… No… No… No… NO!" he shouted. "I forbid this, absolutely not! I will not allow you jeopardize my daughter's health, by placing her with… with… that demon!"

"Gomen, Kazuhiko… But that is…" the Sandaime began.

"NO! With all due respects, Hokage-sama, I cannot accept that!" Kazuhiko replied. "That demon showed what a threat he could be! Because of it… we almost lost the scroll, and many powerful jutsu to go with it! If you put that… that thing with my daughter, then I will remove her from this year's selections!"

"He's right, besides he could pose a threat to the Uchiha!" another Jounin shouted.

"We have to protect him! He's the last of the true Sharingan users and of his clan!" another one shouted.

The Hokage sighed and began to rub his temples. This meeting was starting to become a true pain in the ass, and all he really wanted to do was finish up and get some rest. To make matters worse, several of the Jounin in the room were now getting into an uproar, and all of it because Naruto. He sighed, and slowly looked up. The Sandaime knew that this day would finally come, and knew it would be a troublesome one at that. But to think that so many detested Naruto… It was sickening. Suddenly, the sound of a throat clearing could be heard. Everyone turned to see the head of the Akimichi clan walking forward. The large man looked at Kazuhiko with anger in his eyes, and gave a nod.

"If this is so much trouble for all of you… Then switch a member of another team with Naruto." Chouza said.

"I do not think it's such a simple matter, Chouza-san." the Sandaime replied. "These teams are made to be balanced and to bring out the best in each other based on skills and abilities… The only way I could make a change, would be if it was a unanimous decision… And someone willing to make the exchange."

"He can take my son's spot on the team he was going to be on." Chouza said.

"H-Hey, wait a minute there, Chouza." came the voice of one Yamanaka Inoichi. "Are you sure about that? We were always talking about how our dream was for our kids to be on the same team!"

"I know, but this isn't just any kid we're talking about." Chouza said quietly.

"Hai… He's the legacy of our lost friend…" one Nara Shikaku said.

"Right…" Chouza answered. "As such, it should be our duty to make sure he can get the best… And if there is going to be nothing, but regret and anger, then his development as a shinobi will just be stunted, and you know Minato wouldn't like that…"

"You're right…" Inoichi said. "But are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hai… Two of ours together is better than none. I'll take the bullet. It is for Minato and Naruto." Chouza said. The group paused as they felt every eye in the room on them. Chouza gave a nod, and turned back to the Sandaime once more. "Hokage-sama… I ask that you please switch my son, Akimichi Chouji with Uzumaki Naruto."

"I see…" the Sandaime replied. "Haruno, is that decision fine with you?"

"Hai… So long as that demon is no where near Sakura…" Kazuhiko replied.

"And Uchiha will be safe this way too!" a voice shouted, several more agreeing with him.

"Hatake Kakashi, is this alright with you?" the old man asked.

"I'm fine with it." Kakashi replied lazily.

"Then I will now make it official. From this day forward Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Uzumaki Naruto will be team number ten, trained under Jounin Sarutobi Asuma." the Sandaime began. "And team number seven will be Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Akimichi Chouji, trained under Hatake Kakashi. All those in favor?" Everyone gave a nod. "All those opposed?" Not a word was said. "Good… Then, let us move on…"

Iruka sighed as the meeting began to move on. He felt both a sense of relief and anger. Anger that the village was such a closed-minded place, but relieved that people like Akimichi Chouza, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Nara Shikaku were around… People who could look past old scars, and see someone for what he really was: a boy with a horrible burden. Iruka only hoped that Naruto would be able to get the respect he truly deserved one day, and that the teams would still be successful…


	2. Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and anyone else in the Naruto universe don't belong to me.

UZUMAKI NARUTO, GENIN OF TEAM TEN

CHAPTER 2: MEETING THE TEAM

The sun peered through the window of a small bedroom. As the first gleams of morning's light broke through, the rustling of sheets could be heard. A small patch of blonde hair could be seen from under the blankets of the bed. Slowly, the sheets moved back revealing a somewhat sleepy Naruto. His eyes winced as the light hit him for a moment, a small yawn escaping his lips. Suddenly, he remembered what day it was. A feeling of excitement began to rush through his body, and the boy quickly jumped out of bed. He stretched a bit, and then began to run about his small, somewhat messy apartment as he prepared for the day ahead. A smile was on his lips as he ran to the kitchen and prepared his favorite breakfast, which was a nice, big bowl or ramen. He poured a tall glass of milk as the noodles boiled, and after what seemed like the longest three minutes in his life he devoured his breakfast in a flash. From there, it was off to take a quick shower. A small yelp escaped his lips as a blast of cold water shot through the spigot. He could've sworn he told the landlord about the hot water in his shower being out... He quickly jumped out of the shower, and dried off. Naruto decided that he'd just have to tell the woman again later, but not now.

Today was the day when he'd be finally be beginning the next step towards achieving his dream. Naruto wasn't exactly sure what that step was going to be, however. All he knew was that Iruka told him to be at the academy at exactly eight in the morning. So, whatever it was, it had to be official. The blonde boy quickly went about the remainder of his morning routine. He quickly brushed his teeth, put on his usual orange jumpsuit, and then grabbed his shinobi tools. To finish up, he was about to put his green goggles back on his head, however he then spotted the hitai-ate Iruka gave him, and a slight chuckle escaped his lips. He had been going to the academy with his goggles on for so long, that he wasn't quite used to having to wear something else in their place. He tied the hitai-ate around his forehead, and gave himself a once over in the mirror in his room.

"Perfect!" Naruto shouted in excitement. "Heh… I look so cool! An official shinobi of the village at last!"

The blonde quickly ran out the door, locking it tightly behind him. He didn't waste a single moment as he dashed down the apartment building steps, and through the streets of Konoha towards the Shinobi Academy. Normally, he could feel the glares of the villagers as he moved along, but not today. Naruto had already determined that there was absolutely nothing in the world that could ruin his day today. The smile on his face never shrunk once, and it seemed to only grow as he made his way through the academy building, and into Iruka's classroom. The room was rather noisy today, as the various students that passed the exam were all chatting away. Some of them looked up, expecting Iruka to be coming in when the door opened, only to either be surprised or disappointed when they saw it was only Naruto. Almost immediately, whispers began to float about the room. Unless they were dreaming the whole thing, and they were most certainly sure they were not, they distinctively remembered Naruto failing the exam the previous day. However, even their whisperings didn't seem to bother the said boy. He simply made his way down the steps, walking towards his usual seat. As Naruto walked, a boy resting his head upon his desk looked up and yawned. As the said boy spotted Naruto, a bit of confusion entered his mind, so he decided to find out just what was going on.

"Naruto… What are you doing here?" he asked. "Only those of us who graduated are supposed to be here."

Naruto turned to see who was speaking to him and sighed. The voice belonged to one Nara Shikamaru, quite possibly the laziest boy in all of Konoha. He was wearing a pair of brown pants and a fishnet, short-sleeved shirt. Over top of the shirt was a gray, short-sleeved jacket. He had black hair which he kept pulled back into a small ponytail of sorts, causing his head to almost look like a pine apple. A small pair of earrings was in his ears, one per lobe. His hitai-ate was tied around his left arm. Naruto leaned in close and grinned.

"I did pass." he answered Shikamaru. He paused for a moment, pointing at the hitai-ate around his forehead. "Or did you happen to miss this?"

The Nara simply yawned. His eyes skewed for a moment, before turning back to the desk. It was only a second longer before he was resting his head once more.

"Troublesome…" the boy muttered.

Naruto simply gave it a shrug and began to walk down the aisle once more. As he reached the area where he normally sat, a scowl crossed his face. Suddenly, that feeling that nothing could ruin this day shrunk a bit at what he saw in his favorite seat. A boy with black hair. It was slightly long in the front with bangs lining the sides of his face, while in the back it was rather spiky, and in Naruto's opinion looked like the backend of a chicken. The boy had blue eyes, and a slightly pale skin complexion. He was wearing a pair of white shorts and a blue t-shirt. On his arms was a pair of arm warmers. They were right, with blue trimming matching the blue in shirt. His hitai-ate rested around his forehead, and his shirt had a clan symbol on the back… The clan symbol for Uchiha to be exact. Yes, the boy was none other than Uchiha Sasuke, otherwise known as the last of the Uchiha, the Rookie of the Year, and a severe pain in Naruto's side. He glared daggers at Sasuke. The said boy was resting his chin on his hand, slowly looked at the blonde impassively. Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted as the door to the classroom bust open.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY, INO-PIG!" a pink-haired girl shouted.

"AND LET YOU GET TO SASUKE-KUN FIRST?!" a blonde girl shouted back.

The two girls were both trying to shove their way into the room. The only problem was they had gotten stuck, mainly from both trying to in at the same time. The pink-haired girl was known as Haruno Sakura, daughter of Haruno Kazuhiko. Her was quite long, going down to just past her lower back. She had emerald-green eyes, just like her father. She was wearing a red, short-sleeved dress with various white designs on it. Underneath those was a pair of tight, navy blue shorts. She kept her hitai-ate in her hair like a ribbon of sorts. The blonde girl was known as Yamanaka Ino. She was wearing a purple skirt, with a matching purple top. She had a pair of arm warmers like Sasuke's, except that the lining was purple. Ino too had long hair, only she kept hers pulled back into a long ponytail. Even then, it went down to the same length as Sakura's. Her hitai-ate was tied around her waist like a belt of sorts, and she had bandages wrapped around her thighs and stomach. She had a pair of identical earrings in her ears, just like Shikamaru's.

As the two had finally managed to squeeze in the door, Naruto forgot all about Sasuke for a moment. Rather, his attention shifted to the figure of Sakura. The said girl had managed to take the lead, and was currently running down in his direction. Naruto smiled as happily as he could, giving her a friendly wave. You see, Naruto had a thing for Sakura. He thought that she was the most beautiful girl in the class. When Naruto wasn't pulling pranks or being lectured by Iruka. He was trying to get her attention anyway he could.

"Konichiwa, Sakura-chan!" the blonde boy greeted. "How are y--"

"Shut up and move!" Sakura snapped at the boy, shoving him down to the ground in the process. He watched as Sakura ran right into the row of seats, stopping just before Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun!! It looks like we both graduated! Isn't that great?!"

Sasuke was currently looking out the window. He shuddered a bit when Sakura's sudden screaming entered his ears, and he slowly gazed in her direction. He gave her a simple nod, and then returned to looking outside. Sakura cheered in delight, and quickly took a seat beside the boy. Naruto's glare at Sasuke grew in power, and he was hoping that it would be enough to cause the Uchiha to burst into flames. It didn't happen that way though. Sasuke was still staring off into space, and Sakura appeared to have been staring at the boy so much that a trail of drool began to trickle from her mouth.

"Damn it, that… that bastard! What the hell makes him so great, anyways? I mean, Sakura-chan just sits there staring at him all the time! It's like he's a drug and she's got to get her fix!" Naruto thought.

His eyes narrowed. Naruto quickly climbed back to his feet, and suddenly leapt onto the table. He walked over to right in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha glanced up, right as Naruto bent down, glaring even harder at him. Sakura frowned and glared at Naruto.

"What are you looking at, dobe?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto didn't reply, and kept his glare focused.

"Baka! What are you bothering Sasuke-kun for?!" Sakura shouted. She quickly rose out of her seat and punched the boy in the head. "Get lost, jerk!"

The blonde boy rubbed his head in pain as he hopped off the table. Various members of the class could be heard laughing at the event. Naruto looked back at Sakura and Sasuke one time, before simply moving to an empty seat in another room. Alright… So he hit a slight rough patch… It happens. However, Naruto was still determined that this day was going to be one of the best ones ever. He put his head down on the desk, slowly gazing up at a clock on the wall, counting down the seconds until Iruka would arrive. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. Right when the clock hit eight on the dot, the Chuunin walked into the room. Naruto was happy to see that Iruka was looking much better since the events of the previous night. Sure, he still had a cut or bruise, but they were only noticeable if you looked closely.

The Chuunin looked around for a moment as he entered the room. Normally, the class would continue on with whatever they were in the middle of. However, today they all seemed to quiet down right on the spot, and they were all sitting attentively in their seats. All except for Shikamaru, who had dozed off since talking to Naruto. Slowly, Iruka made his way into the classroom and towards the front. In his hand, was the finalized arrangement for the Genin teams. He sighed as he thought of that day's events. True, he had never thought much of some of the shinobi, Kazuhiko included, but now he was thinking even less of them. Though, he was glad and a bit surprised that Inoichi, Chouza, and Shikaku were all so willing to help out. They had never seemed to show that much concern for Naruto before… Or maybe he just managed to miss it somehow. At any rate, things were going to be a bit different now. He only hoped that the results of these changes would be truly for the better. Iruka sighed again, and slowly turned around to face the class.

"Alright everyone… Settle d--" Iruka began, only to see that everyone was already quiet and paying attention to him. He chuckled a bit, and then continued on from where he left off. "I'd like to start off by congratulating all of you here today. You are the ones who managed to pass the exam. From this day forward, you will no longer be my students. Rather, we are now comrades. We are fellow shinobi of the village of Konohagakure. However, like most things you must start at the bottom and work your way up, and being a shinobi is no different. You are all, but novice shinobi, or rather Genin. However, you will presented with plenty of opportunities to get stronger and increase your skills. And hopefully one day, you will be able to advance to the further levels of shinobi. I look forward to working along side you all, and watching you all continue to grow."

The class nodded at him, and Iruka smiled weakly. He was an academy teacher, he should be used to things like this. However, he always felt a little sad when the students moved on. He sighed and cleared his throat a bit.

"Now then… The next thing we must do from here, is divide you up into three-man teams." Iruka said.

"Teams?" Sakura asked.

"Correct." Iruka replied. "Each of these teams will consist of three of you Genin, and you will be led by a shinobi of Jounin rank. The Jounin will act as coaches so to speak. They will aid you in the further development of your skills, and assist you in various missions and assignments you will accept on behalf of the village."

Naruto smiled brightly at the thought of this. As Iruka continued his speech, the blonde boy began to think of any possible team formations that would be good for him. In the end, he decided that as long as Sakura was on his team, and Sasuke was not, then he would finally have the chance he needed to catch the attention, respect, and admiration of the girl. He began to chuckle to himself at this thought. He pictured Sakura begging him to go out, and Sasuke begging him to show him some tips and pointers. Suddenly, he was snapped out of his day dreams just in time to see Iruka start reading off the list of teams. He began by announcing the number, followed by the three Genin that would be on it, and followed by the Jounin who would lead and teach it. As Iruka announced the Jounin, one would walk into the room and collect the three Genin assigned to him or her. Naruto waited in anticipation as this continued for sometime. Eventually, there were only nine of them in the room, and Sakura and Sasuke were two of them.

"Now then…" Iruka began as the last team he announced exited the room. "The next team will be Team Seven. It will consist of Haruno Sakura, Akimichi Chouji, and Uchiha Sasuke. It will be lead by Hatake Kakashi."

Naruto suddenly felt his day dream explode into a fiery ball of death, crashing into the world, and destroying him in an instant. Not only was Sakura on the same team as Sasuke, but the third person didn't even get to be him. His chances of making it with the pink-haired girl seemed to be shrinking faster and faster. It seemed to shrink more, when Sakura declared her victory to Ino. Naruto sighed as he stared at the girl, and then slowly looked behind him at the third member of the team, Akimichi Chouji.

He was a rather plump boy, like many of the men in the Akimichi clan. He was wearing a yellow t-shirt with a green, short-sleeved jacket over top of it, and a pair of brown shorts on his legs. A white scarf was wrapped around his neck, and he had bandages wrapped around his arms. He had brown, somewhat messy hair. He wore his hitai-ate like a hat of sorts, and had two holes in it, one on each side, that allowed to patches of hair to poke out. The shirt had the clan symbol of the Akimichi on the front of it. Like Shikamaru and Ino, the boy had a pair of earrings in his ears. As Naruto looked at the boy closer, he didn't appear to hate the team up, or support it. He just sat there quietly, munching on a bag of chips. Slowly, Chouji looked around the room and back to Iruka.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei?" the boy called, still munching away. "I don't see any Jounin coming in here."

"I was afraid of that… Just wait a bit, I'm sure he'll be along soon." Iruka sighed. "Anyways, moving along… The next team will be Team Eight. It will consist of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your Jounin sensei will be Yuhi Kurenai."

Naruto watched as the said Jounin entered the room, and three said Genin rose. It looked like quite a strange bunch to him. First, there was the Kiba boy. Was wearing a pair of brown shorts and a gray, hooded coat. The hood was up, but one could still see the bangs of his brown, messy hair. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead. The first thing Naruto thought when looking at Kiba was dog, and for good reason too. A small, white puppy could be seen peeking out from within his coat, and his teeth looked very much like a dog… And the smell… Naruto decided to focus on the checking out the other student instead. Another boy, he was a bit taller than Kiba. Naruto figured him to be the one named Shino. He was wearing a pair of brown pants and had a green, long coat on. The collar on the coat was high, so Naruto wasn't able to see much below the boy's nose, of even his face in general. This was thanks to the sunglasses he was also wearing. Like Kiba, he wore his hitai-ate around his forehead.

Then there was the final member of the team. Being the female, Naruto figured her out to be the one called Hyuuga Hinata. She seemed rather… quiet to him and possibly somewhat unsure, though of what Naruto didn't know. She was wearing a pair of dark blue pants, and a beige colored coat. It had a strange symbol on the sleeve, one that he determined to be a symbol for her family's clan. Her hitai-ate rested around her neck, and she had short, dark blue hair. However, what caught Naruto's attention on her the most was her lavender eyes, and how they did not have any pupils in them. The only reason he noticed this, was because she glanced in his direction. Right after Hinata did though, she quickly looked away and began to blush. Naruto shrugged, and turned his attention back to Iruka.

"Now then… Team Nine is still in circulation from last year's graduates. This leads us over to Team Ten. It will consist of Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Naruto, and Nara Shikamaru." Iruka stated.

"Wait a minute!" Ino suddenly shouted. "I can take not being with Sasuke-kun, but sticking me with this lazy bum and the dobe!"

"What did you call me?!" Naruto shouted back.

"You heard me! Dobe!" Ino replied. "Iruka-sensei, these two aren't gonna do anything, but drag me down!"

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed, as he slowly sat up. "Do you both have to be so loud?"

"Iruka-sensei, isn't there anyway you can re-arrange the teams?" Ino pleaded.

"Gomen, Ino… The teams have all been finalized by the Hokage. It is too late to change them now." Iruka explained. "Now, like I was saying… Your Jounin-sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma."

It was at that moment, that the said Jounin walked into the room. He glanced around the room, looking over the three that would be his students. It seemed to be a bit of a loud formation, or at least that's what he gathered from the two blondes. Still, a team is a team. Besides, it was the first time he ever saw them, so surely there was more to the two than that. He paused as he took a puff of his cigarette, and then smiled.

"Alright Team Ten, what do you say we grab some lunch and get to know each other." he suggested. "My treat."

Asuma turned and began to walk out of the class. Shikamaru followed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He was followed by Ino, who received a triumphant smile from Sakura, who was followed by Naruto, who took one look back at the pink-haired girl and sighed. So far, this day hadn't been what he wanted it to be. He decided for the time being, to shift his thoughts from the day's events, over towards his new sensei for a moment. He didn't look to be a powerful shinobi. Naruto always considered the Jounin to be the best of the best, that the only one who could possibly be better was the Hokage himself. Asuma though, he seemed pretty laid back. Naruto snapped out of his thoughts for a moment as the group exited the academy. A Jounin with silver hair and only one visible eye was making his way past them, his nose buried in a small orange book. The man was talking to himself, and never moved his eye from the pages of the book.

"Let's see… I could tell them I had to save a baby from a burning building… No, that's too over the top. I know, maybe I could mention that I got a cat out of a tree for an elderly citizen. That seems good…" the Jounin mumbled.

Naruto shook his head in confusion. Asuma walked slowly, leading the three of them into town. His hands were in his pockets, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Naruto had never seen one quite like the man. However, at the same time, there was something about him that seemed familiar. Eventually, the group stopped outside of a small restaurant that specialized in barbeque. Naruto seemed a bit disappointed at this. After the cycle of bad news that seemed to be falling into place, he could really go for some ramen right now. However, he then remembered that it was a free meal, so who was he to complain? The three went inside the restaurant, taking a booth in the back of the place. The three Genin filed in on one side of the booth, while Asuma sat on the other side. He ordered the variety platter, a meal that was made to feed four. He then ordered some sake for himself, and tea for the Genin. It was quiet for a moment, the Genin watching as Asuma pulled another cigarette from a pocket on his vest. He lit it and slowly inhaled, savoring the flavor for a moment. He sighed happily, and then looked at the three.

"Alright guys… Welcome to the first meeting of Team Ten." Asuma began. "Since this is our first meeting, I think we should take some time to get to know each other better."

"What do you want to know?" Ino asked.

"Oh… You know, the basic stuff." Asuma answered. "Say your name, likes, dislikes, hobbies… and a dream for the future. How about you go first? You know the old saying, ladies first."

"Alright. My name is Yamanaka Ino. I like helping my family out our flower shop, arranging flowers, spending time with friends. I hate that Billboard Brow, Sakura…" Ino began. She got a rather fierce glare from Naruto upon stating her hate, but she continued anyways. "My hobby is working with flowers, and as for a dream… I hope to one day become a strong kunoichi, and make my clan proud."

"Hmm… She didn't mention anything about the Uchiha… Not like the usual girl her age…" Asuma thought. "Alright then, how about we hear from our other blonde friend next?"

"Sure thing!" Naruto replied. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Iruka-sensei, ramen, and the old man… er… I mean Hokage. I hate the three minutes it takes for ramen to cool and people who judge someone before they get to know them. My hobbies, I suppose that'd be training and pranks! As for my dream… I'm going to one day earn the respect of everyone in the village, all by becoming the Hokage!"

"That's quite a dream… He's definitely a different one." Asuma thought. "Now for you, the one with the lazy look in his eye."

"Fine…" Shikamaru sighed. "Nara Shikamaru… I like shougi, naps, friends… I dislike annoying or troublesome things… Hobbies? I guess that'd be cloud watching and playing shougi. As for a dream, nothing major. I guess get married, have a kid or two, then grow old."

"That was so boring!" Naruto exclaimed. "Don't you have anything interesting to add?"

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed. "I didn't list those for your approval, you know… Just because you find those things boring, doesn't mean I do."

"Alright guys, cool it." Asuma said with a slight chuckle. "I'll finish us up here. My name is Sarutobi Asuma. I like training, those who are willing to work hard, and a good smoke. I hate those who give up without trying or don't apply themselves, as well as constant tardiness. My hobbies include playing shougi and reading a good book. As for my dream, I guess that would be you guys."

"Us?" Ino questioned. "What do you mean?"

Asuma paused a moment before continuing as the meal and drink was served. He finished the current cigarette he had in his mouth, sighing as that last puff of smoke exited his mouth and floated into the air. He motioned for the three to dig in, taking a small sip of sake as he did so.

"Well, let's just say I happen to be a guy who can tell a lot from very little. And even though the introductions weren't that in depth, I can tell that all three of you happen to have a lot of potential." he began to explain. Of course, what Asuma didn't mention was he happened to obtain extra information about the three from Iruka. He didn't really feel the need to specify that, either. He was sure they all three knew that already, considering the fact they were before him now. Also, there was the risk of them possibly having an easy to raise ego, and just make that one a pain to deal with. "Of course, most of that potential has yet to be truly brought out, and is something I hope to do once we get to some training."

"What kind of training?" Naruto asked as he swallowed a sip of tea.

"Well… I'd rather not say just yet. I mean, I'd hate to get your hopes up and then have them doused. Better to make sure that we'll actually even make it that far, first…" Asuma replied, grinning a bit.

A moment of silence passed by the three. All three of them gave each other a curious glance. They then looked back to Asuma with confusion in their eyes. The Jounin chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't understand…" Naruto said. "What do you mean we might not make it that far?"

"Well, before we can get down to the serious training, we'll have to do a bit of survival training… Though truth be told, it's more of a test." Asuma explained.

"A t-test?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"What do you mean we have to take a test?!" Ino joined in. "We just graduated from the academy and became Genin, and we're getting tested again already?!"

Shikamaru simply sighed and rested his forehead on his hand. He could tell that he was going to be getting constant headaches with these two always around. However, he was also confused about how they could be getting tested again. Although, he probably would have found a more quiet, less troublesome method of voicing his concern. Instead, he simply remained silent as Asuma chuckled again, trying to get the blondes to calm down.

"Well… The truth of the matter is, that none of the ones that graduated from the academy and were put on the teams are actual shinobi… For the time being anyways." Asuma could tell the blondes were about to go nuts again, so he put a hand up. "Let me explain. You see, the Genin exam technically has two parts. The first part, the exam Iruka gave you, was something like an elimination round. He gave you a somewhat simple task, and using that he was able to separate those of you who showed the most potential, from the ones who would honestly, just get in the way. The fact that you three are here, proved that you are in fact worth the time and effort."

"So… Why the second part then?" Shikamaru asked. "I mean, having to go through another test already? It's all just so troublesome…"

"I suppose you could call it that…" Asuma mused. He paused and reached for another cigarette. He placed it in his mouth, lighting it slowly, and sighing once more. "However, it is needed. You see, even though twenty-seven of you passed, only nine of you can actually become Genin. The rest of your class will be faced with two choices. They can either go back to the academy for a year to get some more training, then try the test again. Or, they may decide to quit being a shinobi for good. The last option being the most common."

"So… Out of all twenty-seven of us that graduated from Iruka-sensei's class, only nine of us can become full-fledged Genin… That means that this test really isn't so little. At least, not when the failing rate is over sixty percent." Shikamaru sighed.

"Bingo. You know, you're a lot smarter than you look." Asuma replied. Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes. "Anyways, that's correct. This test has a failing rate of sixty-six percent. After all, we want to make sure that we get the best of the best with every group."

"So… What kind of test is it then?" Naruto asked.

"Heh… Well, it wouldn't be any fun if I spoiled the surprise now." Asuma said. Slowly, raised up from the booth, putting the money down for the food in the process. "Just make sure you come to Training Ground #5 tomorrow morning. I want you there no later than seven, alright?"

The three nodded, and Asuma waved good bye. The three sat there for a moment more, before they too got up to leave. The sun was already beginning to set when they got outside. Shikamaru yawned, gazing up at a cloud he saw passing by.

"What a drag… Having to take another test already…" he sighed.

"Bah… I'm sure we can handle it just fine!" Naruto exclaimed. "Besides, Asuma-sensei doesn't look so tough to me. I mean, just what kind of test could he give us anyways?!"

"Naruto… You do know who Asuma-sensei is, right?" Ino asked, looking back at Shikamaru in the process.

"Of course…" Naruto began. "He's a Jounin, right?"

"There's more to him than that…" Shikamaru sighed. "His full name was Sarutobi Asuma, remember?"

"I do." Naruto answered. "What's that gotta do with anything though?"

"You baka…" Ino sighed. "Sarutobi is the last name of someone else in the village. One of the, if not THE most powerful shinobi in Konoha! Asuma-sensei is related to the Hokage!"

"The Hokage?!" Naruto shouted. "Are you sure?!"

"Of course!" Ino replied. "How many other people in the village do you think would share his last name?!"

"Oh man… This is awesome! I'm being trained by someone related to the Hokage!" Naruto began to celebrate. "This changes everything! This is like, the best sensei I could have ever dreamed of!"

"He hasn't even trained us yet, Naruto!" Ino snapped.

"So what?!" Naruto replied, still excited. He grabbed Ino's hands, beginning to jump up and down in the process. "He's related to the Hokage, Ino! It's gotta be like getting trained by the real thing!"

Ino felt a blush creep to her cheeks, and she tried to pull away quickly. However, Naruto's grip on her hands was too strong. Plus, he was to busy celebrating to notice her trying to escape, much less ordering him to let go. Shikamaru watched the scene and sighed. He turned the other direction, and began to make his way home. Maybe failing the test would be a good idea. He'd at least have one or two less troublesome blondes around to deal with…


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and anyone else in the Naruto universe don't belong to me.**

**UZUMAKI NARUTO, GENIN OF TEAM TEN**

**CHAPTER 3: THE TEST**

Naruto stretched and yawned as the sun began to shine through his window. Slowly, he rubbed his eyes and swung his legs over to the side of the bed. Naruto sighed happily as he felt a cool breeze blowing through the window. The sounds of chirping birds could be heard from outside. His head turned, looking over at the nightstand by his bed for his alarm clock, only to see it not there. The blonde's eyes scanned the piece of furniture several times, slowly moving from the top of it and down to the floor. They trailed across the room, stopping by the corner nearest the door to his room. It became deadly quite at that moment. The birds seemed to suddenly silence themselves. Before the boy's eyes, sat a broken, mashed up, no longer functional alarm clock. Now, two thoughts began to flow through Naruto's mind as he tried to figure out what could've happened. He either accidentally knocked the device off the nightstand when he was stretching and somehow managed to miss the crash, or he picked the clock up and chucked it as hard as he could in his sleep when it began to go off. Judging from the current location of the no longer living clock, he would have to go with the second answer.

"DAMN IT!" the boy suddenly shouted.

Naruto quickly struggled out of his seats, and came crashing down to the floor. He managed to quickly climb to his feet, and ripping his pajamas off in the process. The boy began a mad dash towards the shower, turning the water on as quickly as possible. It was a that moment that a violent scream escaped his lips, as hot, searing water poured out from the spout. Finally the landlord decided to fix the water… It would've been nice if Naruto was told, but there was no time for that now. The blonde quickly leapt out of the shower, and ran back to his room. A moment later, Naruto came running back out. He was struggling to put his arm in the right sleeve of his orange jacket. His hitai-ate hanging out of his mouth. He finally managed to pull the jacket on, and grabbed his sandals before running out of the door. Naruto pulled them as he stepped outside, unfortunately taking a spill down the steps in the process. He rubbed his bottom as he slowly managed to climb back to his feet, before dashing off towards the meeting place for the team's test, Training Ground #5.

At the said training ground, Shikamaru and Ino were both waiting for Asuma to arrive so the test could begin. Although, if the truth was to be told, they'd both rather be asleep. In fact, Shikamaru was. The boy was sitting against a log in the area, his head gazing downwards with soft snores coming from his mouth. Ino on the other hand, was pacing back and forth in front of him, trying to wake up more before Asuma arrived. She perked up, gazing towards the training ground entrance when the sound of footsteps rustling through the grass could be heard. However, she sighed in disappointment as it turned about to be Naruto, rather than Asuma. Naruto was breathing heavily, though smiling as he arrived.

"Am I late? Asuma-sensei isn't here yet, is he?!" he asked.

"Not yet…" Ino yawned. "And quiet down! It's too early to deal with your screaming."

"Too early?!" Naruto replied. "How can you not be excited, Ino?! I mean, we're going to become Genin today!"

"We won't know that until we take Asuma-sensei's test, baka!" Ino told him. "And it is too early! I mean, why couldn't Asuma-sensei give us this test later, like around noon or something?!"

Shikamaru sighed as he opened his eyes, giving the two a lazy glare. Now that Naruto was here, it looked like sleep wasn't going to be happening anymore. At least, it wouldn't be happening anymore as long as both of the two were talking to each other. Instead, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and slowly rose to his feet. He began to mumble something or other about troublesome blondes. His gaze shifted from the two, back to the entrance. He sighed in relief at that moment, and looked back at the pair.

"Hey, Asuma-sensei is here… And not too soon…" Shikamaru sighed.

The Jounin smiled and gave a wave as he arrived to the group. As expected, a cigarette was hanging out of his mouth, and a light trail of smoke was coming from it. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and nodded.

"Good to see you all made it, and on time. I hope you've all had a pleasant morning so far?" he greeted. Shikamaru yawned lazily, Ino shot a tired glance at him, and Naruto began to rub his bottom again. The Jounin chuckled a bit, and flicked his cigarette out. "Alright then, I hope you are all at least ready for the test."

The three nodded, and Asuma smiled. They watched as he began to reach into his pocket, and began to pull out a photograph of sorts. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he examined it closer, recognizing the figure within it to be the Jounin he saw as the team left for the barbeque restaurant yesterday. He looked back up at his sensei, scratching his head in the process.

"I don't get it… What does this picture have to do with anything?" he asked.

"Plenty. You see, this is the test… Or should I say that the man in the photo is." Asuma explained. All he got was more confused looks. Sighing, he lit another cigarette and began to explain. "The man you see in the photo is named Hatake Kakashi. You might remember his name from yesterday. He's a Jounin and also the assigned leader for Team Seven. The guy can be quite irritating at times, especially with the way his nose is always shoved in that book. He's late way too much for his own good, too."

"Book?" Ino asked. "I can see him reading one, but I can't make out what kind of book it is, or even the name."

"Ah… Right, I have a better picture of that book…" Asuma replied. He began to fish around in his pockets, smiling as he found the desired photo. He held it out for the team to see. Shikamaru's eyes seemed to widen just a bit, a slight cough escaping his lips. Ino's face turned a shade of deep red, and she quickly looked away. "I see you notice the book better now…"

"A perverted Jounin…" Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome… and disturbing."

"I still don't get it… What makes that book so different?" Naruto asked, looking at the reactions of his two teammates.

"Are you serious?!" Ino asked, giving Naruto a surprised glance. "You don't know what kind of book that is?!"

Naruto shook his head, and Ino sighed. Slowly, she leaned in and began to whisper something into his ear. Naruto's eyes began to widen a bit, and his face turned a bit red. In fact, if Asuma was to look closely, he'd have seen a bit of blood trickle out of Naruto's nose.

"Now you get it…" Asuma replied. "Anyways, Kakashi is always reading this thing everywhere he goes. To make matters worse, he can be up to an hour late at times… Sometimes more. And yet he always still has that book in front of his face. It's getting to be annoying."

Asuma paused, and reached into another pocket on his flack vest. He pulled out a small orange book, and held it out for the group to see. A small smile came to his face, as the would-be Genin examined it.

"Now, here's your test." Asuma announced. "I, along with many other shinobi in the village, are getting a bit tired of seeing him do this. So, your job will be to obtain his usual book, get it far away from him, and replace it with this one."

Shikamaru took the book and slowly opened it up to a random page. His eyes began to scan the page, and suddenly his eyes widened more than either Naruto or Ino had ever seen them do before. He began to gag at the sight on the page, and quickly tossed it over to Naruto. The boy curiously opened the book up, and began skim the book some. Ino looked over his shoulder as he did so. Suddenly, they two began to gag at what was on the page, though in Naruto's case he was giggling more than gagging.

"This is…" Ino began.

"You guessed it, Ino. It's the popular yaoi rival of Icha Icha Paradise. You'll notice that the outside cover is actually disguised with a henge." Asuma replied. "Your full goal is to manage to switch Kakashi's book with this one, and you must do so without him catching on that it is not the real one."

"Heh… No problem!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You would think so. However, there is a catch." Asuma said. "You only have about three hours to do this."

"Still no problem!" Naruto replied. He grabbed the book away from Shikamaru and began to run from the field. An overly pleased grin was on his face. "It's just like a prank, and I happen to be Konoha's number one prankster!"

Ino immediately began to chase after the boy, shouting for him to slow down. She was soon followed by Shikamaru. The boy sighed, and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he began to walk slowly after the girl. Asuma chuckled a bit, gazing at the sky for a moment. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a fresh cigarette. He sighed as he took that first intoxicating puff, and then leapt up into the trees.

"This should be pretty interesting…" he thought, as he snuck along following the group. "I wonder if they'll be able to understand the true point of the test though…"

Hatake Kakashi sighed as he left the Hokage's Tower. Once again, he had been forcibly assigned a Genin squad to train. Once again, he would give them the bell test. Once again, he would fail them. And once all that was done? The cycle would begin once more, endless, for all of eternity. Even with this year's team consisting of Rookie of the Year and last Uchiha, Sasuke, Kakashi did not want to train a squad. He respected the Hokage a great deal, but he had to admit that he thought the old man would have gotten it through his head that he did not wish to train anyone. A sigh escaped his lips and he quickly reached into his pockets, pulling out his favorite novel. He flipped through the pages, finding the last spot where he had left off. Then, Kakashi began to make his way for home. A small nap and some tea was calling his name before he would test his team. However, some had different plans.

In the trees by the tower, he was being stalked by a blonde Genin in an orange jumpsuit. A smile evident on his face as he noticed the target item in Kakashi's hands. Naruto couldn't believe that the test to become a Genin was going to be so easy. He pulled a kunai out of the holster that was taped around his right leg. He felt his heart pounding as he waited for just the right moment, eyeing Kakashi as he walked down the road. Naruto began to count down quickly and took a deep breath. He quickly leapt out of the trees, and towards the Jounin, kunai ready to strike. Hatake seemed to have different plans, however. As if purely on instinct, Kakashi put his right fist up and Naruto's face smashed right into it. The Genin fell to the ground and held his face in pain, literally trying his best not to cry in pain. Kakashi paused and sighed as he turned the page of his book.

"I don't know who you are, or what you were trying to do just then." Kakashi said with a slight yawn. "But if you were trying to get the drop on me, you did two things wrong. One, you're way too loud. It's kind of hard to sneak up on someone when they hear you coming. Two, your clothes are way to bright. Who would wear a bright orange when sneaking around in green leaves?"

"Oh… Who asked you, anyways?!" Naruto shouted in response. He crossed his arms and glared at Kakashi. "Just shut up, and give me your book!"

"My book?" Kakashi asked in curiosity. He paused and glanced at the novel in his hand, and then back at Naruto. He then began to wave him off, slowly walking around the boy in the process. "Why should I give you mine when there's a bookstore that sells them right down the street? Besides, don't you think you are a bit young for something like this?"

"Hey! I'm old enough to do what I want with it!" Naruto replied. "And besides, not just any copy will do! It has to be yours!"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he quickly covered his mouth. Kakashi gave the boy a strange look. Slowly, he began to walk on again. He paused for a moment and looked back at Naruto.

"You're a weird one, kid… Go home." he said.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me like that!" Naruto shouted.

Kakashi didn't respond however. He just kept on walking away from the boy, humming a bit as he turned the page in his book. Naruto groaned in frustration, and held his kunai tightly. If Kakashi wanted to play it the hard way, then the boy would be more than happy to oblige. He dashed forward, ready to strike Kakashi again. However, as he swung the kunai at Kakashi, the Jounin immediately spun around and repelled the attack with a kunai of his own. To make it worse, his other hand was still occupied with that book, and his only visible eye was still focused more on it than Naruto. He sighed as the blonde continued to throw random strikes at him. Kakashi sighed and jumped back just long enough to close his book, and then suddenly ran straight at Naruto. The Jounin then slammed his kunai downward into Naruto's, causing it to fly right out of his hand. Though this attack succeeded in disarming Naruto, the most it did was just cause the blonde to become even more angry. This was mainly because Kakashi had yet to look away from his book. Naruto groaned in frustration again.

"Ugh… Nobody ignores Uzumaki Naruto and gets away with it!" the blonde declared.

He dashed towards Kakashi once more, this time engaging the Jounin in hand to hand combat. He swung at Kakashi with a left. The Jonin leaned back, avoiding the blow completely. Naruto threw a mighty right kick. Kakashi ducked underneath it. Naruto smiled as he through another punch, straight towards Kakashi's face. As his fist connected though, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto's eyes widened as he began to look around.

"Damn it! Where the hell did he go?!" Naruto shouted.

"Behind you…" a voice suggested lazily. Naruto froze.

The voice sounded very familiar… and not in a good way either. He slowly looked over his shoulder, and saw Kakashi bent over behind him. His book slowly closed as he looked up, a dangerous look in his eye. A smile became evident underneath his mask. He quickly positioned his index fingers into the sign of the tiger, and them shoved his fingers right into Naruto's… butt. The blonde let out a scream of pain as he flew through the air, right towards a small vegetable stand and right into a crate of tomatoes. Slowly, the boy climbed out of the crate, his once orange jumpsuit turning red with squashed tomatoes all over it.

"What the hell was that supposed to be?!" he demanded to know.

"Sennen Goroshi…" Kakashi replied. "It was something I was originally saving for my Genin team's test, but you seemed to need it a bit more."

"Oh… Shut up!" Naruto snapped. "You think you're so tough, don't you? Well, get ready to get disappointed, cause Uzumaki Naruto doesn't know the meaning of defeat!"

Kakashi watched with mild interest as Naruto made a familiar hand sign. However, right at that moment the blonde felt a hand fall on his shoulder. He slowly turned around and saw a middle-aged man glaring at him. He was wearing an apron, with a large picture of a carrot in the middle of it. It didn't exactly take much for Kakashi or Naruto to figure that the crate of tomatoes the blonde boy landed in belonged to him. The stand owner's grip tightened on Naruto's shoulder as he gazed back and forth between the crate and squashed tomatoes that decorated the once orange jumpsuit.

"Boy, are you going to pay for those?" the man asked.

"H-Hey! Wait a minute! It's not my fault the tomatoes got ruined!" Naruto protested. "It's all that Jounin's fault!"

"What Jounin, gaki?" the man asked.

Naruto's eyes widened and he quickly looked around. The problem was, Kakashi was no where to be seen. There was only a few stay leaves blowing in the wind. He gulped as he felt the vegetable stand owner's eyes harden into a glare, almost as if they were burning a hole though his skin. The owner sighed.

"Listen, boy… The only person I see here is you… And what a surprise, you just happen to be covered in tomatoes. My tomatoes… The money, now."

Naruto sighed, and reached down into a pouch around his waist. Slowly, he fished out a frog-shaped wallet, and opened it up. The wallet was quite full, or rather it was. Once Naruto had fished it out, the man took it, and emptied all of the wallet's contents into his hands. He then walked back to his stand, tossing the now empty wallet back to Naruto in the process. Naruto sighed and put it back into his pouch.

"Gomen, Gama-chan…" he said. "You'll be full and fat again soon… I promise."

As he finished his statement, he could here a small applause begin out of nowhere. The boy turned to see Ino with a smirk on her face. She walked forward, and reached into another pouch on Naruto's waist, pulling the yaoi book out with a grin.

"Nice work, Naruto!" she cheered. "You really showed him whose boss!"

"I'd like to see you do better!" Naruto retorted.

"I can and I will, just watch!" she said as she ran off to go find Kakashi.

Naruto groaned, and ran off behind the girl. Shikamaru arrived just in time to see both of the blondes running off, and he sighed once more. This whole thing had been so troublesome so far. Also, something seemed off… He gave it a shrug, and decided to think it over as he walked after his two teammates.

Ino's pursuit of Kakashi lead her straight to the park. Ino smirked as she watched the man from the bushes. He was still reading that book as he walked along. It was as if nothing had happened before… He was completely off guard from Ino's perspective, and that meant she had the edge for now.

"This is gonna be cake…" she whispered. "One Icha Icha Paradise coming up."

Ino quietly reached into a pouch around her waist, and grabbed a handful of shuriken. Quickly, the girl leapt out of the bushes, charging straight for Kakashi. The man sighed and turned around, watching as Ino ran towards him.

"Can I help you with something?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll say! You can give me that book!" Ino shouted. She tossed her shuriken at the Jounin quickly. Kakashi managed to jump over them with ease. However, Ino was not surprised. Rather, she had a satisfied smirk on her face as he landed. She began to make several hand signs quickly, ending the series by positioning her index fingers and thumbs together to make a diamond shape. "Gotcha now! Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

A wave of blue chakra shot out of Ino and straight for Kakashi. The Jonin's eye widened as he recognized the jutsu being performed. Ino's body fell limp and hit the ground. As quickly as he could, Kakashi managed to perform a substitution jutsu with a nearby log. He landed gracefully on his feet a few meters away and began to walk a little faster.

"A Yamanaka, eh?" Kakashi said to himself. "Now that I think about it… Asuma had one of those on his Genin team… And that kid from earlier wanted my book too. It seems like he's trying to have them get it from me for their test. Oh well… Too bad they don't get the real point of these things…"

Shikamaru smirked as he emerged from the bushes. His hands were stuffed in his pockets as he made his way to Ino. Naruto leapt out of a nearby tree and followed the lazy boy.

"I do now, Kakashi…" he said quietly.

"You do what now?" Naruto asked back.

Shikamaru remained silent for a moment. Slowly, Ino's eyes fluttered back open and she sat up with a small groan. She looked around for a moment, spotting the Nara and sending him a glare.

"Shikamaru!" she shouted. "Where were you earlier? Have you even tried to get a hold of that guy's book?"

"No, not yet." Shikamaru replied.

"Are you kidding me?! Why not?!" Naruto yelled.

"Because, baka… Do you really think we're a match for this guy?" Shikamaru asked back.

"What did you call me just now?!" Naruto shouted.

"Baka…" Shikamaru replied. "I called you a baka, and Ino you're not much better off right now, either."

"You're really asking for it!" Ino shouted as she got ready to punch him.

"Troublesome blondes… Just be quiet and listen to me for a minute." Shikamaru sighed. He sat down on the ground, being joined shortly by both Naruto and Ino. "Why do you think that three of us were put on a team in the first place? Why even make a team of three? Simple… Because teamwork is often the best weapon. Alone, each of us can only get so far, but together, we have the chance to actually get his book."

"But what are we supposed to do?" Naruto asked. "This guy took me and Ino out like we were nothing!"

"I can't believe this, but… I agree with Naruto." Ino replied. "He completely outclassed us!"

"Actually, while you two were getting whipped I was working on a plan in my head." Shikamaru said. He leaned in close and began to talk quietly. "It's really quite simple, and the three of us can easily get this book from him. Here's what we need to do…"

Meanwhile, Kakashi had finally managed to turn down the street that led to his apartment.. He sighed in relief as the attacks from the would-be Genin to make it that far. Now all he had to do was get inside, and he would be home free. He sighed as he took two steps, only to stop and turn around. Naruto was staring back at him with his arms crossed. A confident grin was lining his features.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Kakashi sighed.

"Nope! It's not in my vocabulary!" Naruto replied happily.

"Have it your way, kid." Kakashi said. He opened his book back to the page he left off on, and looked back to the blonde boy. "I'll play with you one last time, and then I'm off for a nap."

He was about to tell Naruto to attack, however the blonde had already formed a hand sign, and his grin had grown. In a cloud of smoke, Kakashi's foe went from one annoying, loudmouthed, orange-clad boy, into an army of twenty Bunshin and one general. Kakashi's eye widened as he witnessed the sight, but he returned his focus to his book.

"Are you still going to read that book?!" Naruto groaned.

"I don't see why not…" Kakashi sighed. "A bunch of Bunshin is nothing to be worried about."

"Bunshin?" Naruto asked back. "Heh… I can't make a single one of those!"

"Oh? Then what are those?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Kage Bunshin!" Naruto shouted.

Kakashi nearly choked when he heard those words leave the Genin's mouth. There was no way some runt like him was able to perform a Jonin-level jutsu! That's when he remembered… Naruto was the one that was involved in the Mizuki incident from the other night! He cursed as he drew a kunai, and prepared to fight. The clones all jumped forward and latched themselves on to Kakashi. The Jonin was struggling to move at this point. He grunted as he made an attempt to free one of his arms, but it was no use. A frown came to his face as a thought came to his mind. Even though they were Kage Bunshin, there is no way a kid fresh out of the academy should be able to hold him back like this. It was then that he looked at the ground, and noticed his shadow looked a little odd. In fact it stretched straight towards a set of bushes, which had begun to rustle a bit. His eyes widened as Shikamaru walked out of the bushes with his hands clasped together.

"Kagemane no Jutsu…" he said lazily. "You're not going anywhere for a bit… Now, Ino!"

Out of another set of bushes came Ino. She ran straight towards the Jonin, and grabbed the book out of his hands. She tossed it towards Shikamaru, who released Kakashi from his hold on him and ran straight through the streets. Kakashi cursed under his breath and shook the shadow clones off of him. He chased right after Shikamaru with lightning speed. Ino smiled as the remaining Naruto who made the clones walked up to her.

"Not too shabby, Naruto!" she told the fellow blonde. He replied with a goofy grin, and then with a cloud of smoke disappeared without a trace. "Now let's see if the last part of the plan works."

Kakashi cursed as he had lost sight of Shikamaru. He didn't think that the Nara would be that fast, especially considering the constant, lazy look in his eyes. A smile could be seen beneath the Jounin's mask as he turned the corner though. He spotted Shikamaru running down the street, a bit slower than before. Kakashi began to run as fast as he could at that point, quickly closing the gap between the two, and trapping Shikamaru into a dead-end alley. Shikamaru slowly turned around, and watched as Kakashi walked to him. He stopped right in front of boy, and knelt down to his level. Pure, killer intent could be felt coming from the Jounin.

"The book. Give it to me. Now!" Kakashi demanded, extending his palm in the process. Shikamaru sighed, and slowly handed the book back to Kakashi. The Jounin quickly pulled it away, and sighed as he held it close. He smiled once more, looking down at Shikamaru. "That was a good try for you and your teammates. I'm afraid it'll take more than that to beat me though. At any rate, see ya around."

Kakashi gave a sigh of relief as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, most likely heading back for his apartment. It was then that the real Naruto jumped out of a nearby tree with a goofy grin on his face. Ino walked up to them with the same grin on her face. Without even a word, Shikamaru nodded and smirked, and the three ran straight back to Training Ground #5. They were slightly stunned when they noticed that Asuma was no where to be seen on the field.

"Where'd Asuma-sensei go?" Naruto asked.

"Right here." the said Jonin said as he hopped out of the trees. "I was watching you guys in action. I gotta admit, I did have my doubts there, but the way you pulled together in the end was great. I was really surprised with how Naruto was able to handle those Kage Bunshin though. Looks like Iruka was right when he said you were unpredictable. Naruto, let me have the book."

"Heh… No sweat, really!" Naruto bragged as he tossed the book to his sensei.

Naruto had sent his Kage Bunshin army to do all the work. The one that actually confronted Kakashi was a Kage Bunshin as well. While they were keeping the Jonin busy, the real Naruto was hiding among the branches of a tree a few streets down. After Ino got Shikamaru his book, the Nara ran the book to where Naruto was hiding, who switched the real one with the yaoi book. So when Kakashi confronted Shikamaru for his book, he actually received the yaoi version instead.

"So what's the verdict?" Ino asked as Asuma flipped through the book. "Are we in or not?"

"You're in. Congratulations, Team Ten." Asuma said with a grin. "We'll begin training and missions tomorrow. You're all dismissed, except for you Naruto. I wanna talk to you about something."

Shikamaru and Ino smiled happily as they bid farewell to Naruto and Asuma. The blonde boy was a little confused as to what his new sensei wanted to talk to him about. The man reached into his pocket and started another cigarette.

"What's up? Is something wrong, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Not really…" the man replied. "It's just… Well, the reason I wasn't around on the field, was because I was watching you all in action. And, during your fight with Kakashi… He made some good points."

"He did?" Naruto asked back.

"He did." Asuma replied. He paused as he took another drag on his cigarette. "For one, those jumpsuits you always wear are too bright. It's alright if you like orange that much, but it's not the best color for sneaking around and such in. As Kakashi said, he was able to see you preparing before you launched your attack."

"Well… Orange is just my color!" Naruto replied. "Anyways… Anything else?"

"Your equipment." Asuma answered simply. He reached into a pouch around his waist and pulled out the kunai Naruto lost during his fight with Kakashi. "Again, I mean no offense. However, this kunai is in pretty rough shape. The blade is dull, and bit of rust is starting to take over. In all honesty, this should've probably been replaced a year or two ago."

Naruto didn't give a quick reply that time. Asuma looked up from the kunai, and noticed that the boy's stare was now at the ground. Also, he could've sworn that shine in his eyes faded for a moment. Asuma sighed. He knew that many adults in the village knew the truth about Naruto, or rather what was in him. It was probably this fact that led to the orange and poor equipment. Asuma imagined that these crappy things were either the only things Naruto was sold, or perhaps the shopkeepers would go as far as to refuse him service. This meant that Naruto was scraping by with the same crap for years. Asuma rubbed the back of his head and walked forward. The blonde suddenly looked up as Asuma put a hand on his shoulder, and a grin on the older man's face.

"Come on, kid." Asuma said. "I'll hook you up."

Naruto smiled back. It was a weak smile, but a smile none the less. The two left the training ground, and began to make their way towards Konoha's shopping district. The sounds of the village beginning their day could be heard in the sky. However, if one was to listen closely, they could also hear a cry of anguish. A cry belonging to one Hatake Kakashi...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and anyone else in the Naruto universe don't belong to me.**

**UZUMAKI NARUTO, GENIN OF TEAM TEN**

**CHAPTER 4: GO CLIMB A TREE**

Naruto smiled as he once again made his way to Training Ground #5. Now that he was finally and officially a Genin, he could finally begin the long climb up the shinobi path to the chair of Hokage. Asuma had informed the three that their training would begin today. Naruto enjoyed training, however since he learned about Asuma being related to the Sandaime… Well, let's just say that this excited him even more. Naruto ran through the streets quickly, surprising many in the process. No longer was the boy clad in his bright, orange jumpsuit. He was now proudly wearing the clothing Asuma helped him purchase the previous night.

He now was wearing a sleeveless, dark red shirt. A pair of baggy, black pants were now on his legs, though they were not so baggy that they would hinder his movements and such. They had several pockets on them, allowing him to carry various shinobi tools. His hands were now covered by a pair of black, fingerless gloves, and a pair of black shinobi sandals were on his feet. He had changed the cloth of his hitai-ate as well, making it black to match his outfit better. Needless to say, it caused many people who knew the boy to do a double take, and his teammates were no exception. In fact, if Ino didn't know any better, she'd swore Naruto had been swapped out for another Genin. For some strange reason, while the group was waiting for Asuma to arrive, the Yamanaka kept finding herself giving the boy an occasional glance. She would never admit it, but the boy looked kind of cute that way… At least better than he had when clad in orange.

"Where is Asuma-sensei?!" Naruto shouted in question, shaking Ino from her thoughts. "I wanna get this training started already!"

"Relax…" Shikamaru yawned. "He'll be here soon enough… So what if he's late? It happens."

"Agh… You're just saying that 'cause you'd rather be asleep or something like that!" Naruto countered.

Shikamaru glanced over at Naruto. A somewhat annoyed look was in his eyes. However, a moment later the boy shrugged, shutting his eyes once more.

"Probably…" he replied.

Naruto groaned, while Ino giggled slightly at the response. It was that moment that Asuma finally arrived to the training ground. As always, a cigarette was hanging from his lips. He waved to the team as he walked forward, an apologetic smile on his lips.

"I hope the wait wasn't too bad." he began. "I had to make a quick stop on the way over to pick something up."

"Like what, Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.

"Something to do with training." he answered. Naturally this peeked Naruto's interest greatly. He watched as the Jounin reached into a pocket on his vest, appearing to be fishing around for something. Slowly, Asuma's eyes lit up, and removed his hand from the pocket. He extended his hand forward to reveal to the entire team… a piece of paper. "Found it!"

There was a passing of silence between the Genin at this moment. Had the man flipped his lid? He planned on using a piece of paper for their training? Something about this whole mess just seemed… off.

"Asuma-sensei, you do know that's just a piece of paper, right?!" Ino asked.

"It sure is." he smiled.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Naruto exclaimed. "What kind of training are you gonna do with just a piece of paper like that?!"

"Troublesome blondes… Always too loud…" Shikamaru sighed, though he secretly agreed with them.

"Alright, alright… Calm down… Believe it or not, this paper is going to do more than you think it is." Asuma said with a chuckle. He held the paper out for them to see again. "You see, you're all going to be learning various jutsu from time to time with me. This paper will aid me in determining what the best element of jutsu to teach you is."

"Wait… I don't get it…" Ino mused. "How is a piece of paper going to do that?"

"And why does element matter?" Naruto asked as well.

"Well, it's easy really. And believe it or not, Naruto, it matters more than you think." Asuma began to explain. "While it is possible for every ninja to learn an elemental jutsu regardless of the type, you will have an easier time learning jutsu that you don't have strain yourself to use... Or rather, not strain as much. You see, there are five main types of elements in jutsu."

"Fire, wind, water, earth, and lightning." Shikamaru said.

"Right… You know for someone who failed nearly every test in the academy, you know more than you let on." Asuma said. Shikamaru shrugged. "Anyways, Everyone has one element that comes natural to them to learn, or in other words, an elemental affinity. The point of this paper is to see what affinity you each have."

He began to rip the paper up into four equal pieces. Asuma then distributed the pieces of paper to the three Genin, keeping one for himself. Ino looked at the paper curiously, and then back to Asuma.

"So, what do we have to do?" Ino asked.

"Well, basically all you have to do is focus chakra into the palm of your hand." Asuma explained. "Once you do so, the paper will react, and judging from that I'll be able to determine your affinity. Here, allow me to show you how it's done."

Asuma began to focus on the palm of his hand. All three of the Genin looked on interest as he did so. Their eyes widened as the paper began to move around a bit in his hand. Slowly, the paper began to rip itself down the center. He smiled as he held his pieces up and showed them.

"That was so cool!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Nothing to it…" Asuma replied. "But we aren't here to see what kind of element affinity I have. We're doing this for you guys. So, let's give it a try, shall we? Ino, you go first."

"Alright, Asuma-sensei." the girl replied. She began to focus chakra into her palm. Unlike Asuma's paper, Ino's began sink in a bit, before slowly becoming damp, before becoming completely soaked. "Gross…"

"Heh… Maybe, but it was still worth it." Asuma said. "Ino, you have an affinity for water elemental jutsu. Alright, how about you go next, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded excitedly, and began to focus chakra. He seemed to have a bit of a problem doing it, but slowly the paper began to rip down the center like Asuma's. It was not as deep as the Jounin's, but it was still enough to tell him what he needed to know. Naruto looked up brightly at his sensei.

"How about that?!" he exclaimed. "It did the same as yours, Asuma-sensei!"

"I saw, kid." Asuma replied with a grin. "That means you and I have the same affinity, that being wind. You're in luck, Naruto. This means I'll have a bit of an easier time teaching you jutsu. Alright, Shikamaru. Finish us up."

Shikamaru sighed, and began to focus his chakra. He seemed to have a bit of an easier time than Ino or Naruto. As the lazy boy focused his chakra, the paper in his hand began to smoke a bit. A small fire caught to the paper, all three Genin looking on in surprise. Despite the fact that the paper caught fire, it didn't seem to be hurting Shikamaru at all. As soon as the paper was reduced to ash, the fire quit.

"That was kind of weird…" he mused.

"Perhaps, but it's all good. Shikamaru, your elemental affinity is fire." Asuma began. "I'm not going to lie to you though, you're gonna have to work a bit harder on what jutsu I teach you."

"Troublesome paper…" he sighed.

"Anyways, now we know what your affinities are…" Asuma chuckled.

"So that means you're gonna teach us them now, right?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"No, not quite yet." Asuma admitted. "There's something else we need to work on first, and that is chakra control."

"Chakra control?" Naruto replied. "Why can't you just teach us some new jutsu?"

"Well, because even if I did, without proper chakra control they may be impossible for you to use properly." Asuma explained. "Not only that, but chakra control is something that every shinobi should work on at one point."

"But, we've using ninjutsu and such just fine up to this point, haven't we?" Ino asked.

"Wrong. You guys may be able to use substitution and Bunshin jutsus, even a clan jutsu in the case of Ino and Shikamaru, but none of you have actually begun to master your control of chakra. Nor are any of you actually using what control you do have efficiently." Asuma explained. A serious stare was on the man's face. He paused as he looked at the group. Shikamaru looked like he was ready to fall asleep. Meanwhile, Naruto and Ino both looked confused. Asuma sighed, and scratched the back of his head. "Look, I'm going to be frank. It won't matter how much chakra you guys put into any technique. If you can't manage to keep a proper balance of chakra, not only will the power and effectiveness be cut in half, but the jutsu may not even work at all. Not only will this hurt you in the long run, but it'll create lots of vulnerabilities."

"So, Asuma-sensei… How are we going to improve our chakra control?" Ino asked.

"Simple, Ino. We're going to climb trees." Asuma answered.

There was another brief moment of silence that fell across the team. Asuma smiled as he looked them over. Shikamaru's eyes were fully alert and open for once. Naruto scrunched his nose as he tried to put two and two together. Ino had another confused look on her face. He smiled as he counted down in his head. Three, two, one, and… Now.

"CLIMBING TREES?!" Naruto and Ino both shouted at once.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered. "How in the world would climbing trees count as training? I mean, I could see it for strength or speed, but…"

"Ah, there's the catch, kiddoes." Asuma smiled. "In normal tree climbing you use your hands. However, this won't be normal tree climbing."

"Meaning?" Ino asked.

"Meaning we won't be using our hands." Shikamaru answered.

"Bingo." Asuma said. "Here, I'll show you guys how it's done."

Asuma clapped his hands together and seemed to close his eyes in focus. He then opened them and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. Asuma began to walk up the tree with ease. He walked out onto to a limb about halfway up the tree, and then flipped over causing him to stare down at the kids while upside down. He took a casual drag on his cigarette, grinning at the Genin down below.

"That's so cool, Asuma-sensei!" Naruto cheered.

"There's nothing to it, really…" Asuma replied. "Just focus all of the energy of your chakra to the bottom of your feet, and use that to cling to the trunk as you climb."

"Wait a minute!" Naruto shouted. "This is neat and all, but how is this kinda thing going to make us any stronger?!"

"Naruto's right…" Ino mused in agreement. "This kinda thing looks more like a cheap trick than anything else."

"I already told you. This is to aid you in reaching greater mastery of chakra control. Use no more than needed, but maximize the effectiveness in where and how it's applied." Asuma sighed. He paused as he returned to the ground, and finished his cigarette. "You see, what I didn't tell you is this kind of tree climbing requires a very fine and delicate application of chakra. Believe it or not, the bottom of the feet is one of the most difficult places to focus and manipulate chakra. Basically, if you master this skill, most jutsus shouldn't be beyond your grasp… Well, for the most part. In other words, start from the bottom and then work your way up."

"That it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Pretty much." Asuma answered.

The Genin watched as Asuma opened his backpack and began to rummage around, as if he was searching for something in particular. He grinned as he pulled out three kunai and passed them out to the kids.

"Kunai?" Naruto asked. "What for?"

"These are to help you keep track of your progress as you climb. Just take a slice out of the tree bark as you go. Then, you aim to surpass that mark. Any questions?" Asuma explained and asked. The three Genin shook their heads. "Alright then, get to it!"

The three Genin nodded, and turned to face the three trees that stood in front of them. All three of them took a look at each other, and then ran for a tree. Naruto smiled as he began to run up his tree. The blonde boy made it up about five steps before the bark exploded beneath his feet, causing him to flip over. He just barely made a cut before he fell. As for Ino, she made it about six steps. However, right after that she slipped and fell back to the ground, landing on her rump with a shriek. Asuma chuckled at the sight, but managed to stifle them as the Yamanaka glared at him.

"I wasn't kidding when I said this could be tough!" he called. "If you use too much force, then you're just going to shatter the bark like Naruto. However, if you don't use enough, then you're going to fall flat on your ass like Ino."

"Heh… This isn't too hard…" a lazy voice said. Asuma, Naruto, and Ino all three glanced over to the third tree to see Shikamaru sitting on the lowest branch of the tree. He was leaning against the bark, a small smile on his face. "But, it's still too troublesome for my tastes…"

"Well, that is a surprise…" Asuma mused. He shot a glance at Naruto and Ino and smirked. "I never would have thought that our lazy Nara Shikamaru would have the best chakra control out of all three of you. At this rate, looks like it's be Shikamaru who will be the next Hokage… And the representative of the Yamanaka clan on our squad isn't looking too good here either."

"Troublesome, sensei… Are you trying to get me killed?!" Shikamaru groaned.

"No, no… Just building some motivation…" Asuma chuckled. He lit up another cigarette and began to think. "In fact, out of all three of you, it's Naruto that has the most untapped potential when it comes to chakra. Also, while the Nara aren't pushovers when it comes to the stuff, the Yamanaka clan is stronger in the area as well…"

He paused in his thoughts as his stomach began to growl. Slowly, Asuma rose from his feet and began to walk away from the training ground. Naruto noticed this as he fell back to the ground, and looked at the Jounin for a moment.

"Asuma-sensei, where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I thought I'd grab us some lunch." Asuma replied. He smirked a bit as another thought entered his mind. "I'll be back in a while. Oh, although if I'm not happy with the results I see… No lunch!"

He chuckled as he heard a gulp come from Naruto, continuing to walk away from the field a moment later. The three Genin continued to work hard on their training, though now with even more motivation. However, no matter how hard they tried, Ino and Naruto were barely making any progress at all. Meanwhile, Shikamaru seemed to be having an easier and easier time. Naruto wasn't sure how long they had been keeping at it, but the blonde eventually suspected that an hour had passed. As he fell from the tree once more, he paused to check on the progress the group had made. Both he and Ino were barely past 1/3rd of the tree's total height. Ino was ahead of Naruto as well, though only by about three or so steps. As for Shikamaru, he had just managed to pass the halfway point. Naruto sighed at this. Something wasn't adding up. He and Ino had to be doing something wrong, while apparently Shikamaru had been doing something far more right. He watched as the Nara returned to the ground, gazing at his own progress for a moment. Then, Shikamaru sat down on the grass. He felt that a small break was over. Naruto sighed, and slowly walked over to him.

"Hey, Shikamaru…" Naruto called.

"Hmm?" the boy sighed. He was honestly hoping that Naruto would be too consumed in his climbing to notice that he took a break. "What's up, Naruto? If it's about Asuma-sensei…"

"No, no… Nothing like that! I was wondering… You know… Can you give me some help?" Naruto replied in question. A small tint of red could be seen on his face as he looked away for a moment. "I mean… You're doing a lot better than either one of us, so… How are you doing it?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened a bit. He honestly didn't expect Naruto to ask for advice. Then again, Naruto was one that appeared to be full of surprises… At least he was that way during the academy, even if none of the surprises were actually good. He sighed, and gave a nod.

"Alright… I'm not an expert at explaining, but here goes." Shikamaru sighed. "There's well… something like a comfort point… You know, that right amount of chakra that feels normal."

"Normal?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Look… It's like this. When you put too much chakra into your feet… Does it kind of burn? And when you don't put enough, does your whole balance just seem off?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Well, when you start off, everything feels normal, right?"

"I guess it does…" Naruto answered.

"Well, anyways…" Shikamaru continued. "While the main point of this whole thing is to focus on sending the right amount of chakra… There's more to it. You have to be able to focus on chakra, as well as that feeling of normality."

"I get it… While I focus on the chakra, I have to think about how it feels to send the right amount!" Naruto replied. "Alright! I'll give it a try!"

Shikamaru watched as Naruto returned to his tree once more. The blonde boy took a deep breath, and once again began to run up the tree. A smirk formed across Shikamaru's lips as Naruto passed his last mark completely, making it just below halfway before flipping back off the tree. He grinned happily, and thanked Shikamaru before running back up the tree to try again. A small chuckle came from the Nara's lips, and it wasn't long before he too began to climb again. Needless to say, Ino was surprised by the results. Her tree was the farthest way from Shikamaru's, so she wasn't able to hear whatever the two talked about. However, she was sure it had to do something with the training, seeing as how much his progress had suddenly increased. The Yamanaka quickly made her way to Naruto's tree, and waited as he returned to the ground.

"Naruto, come here for a second." Ino ordered. Naruto looked up at her slowly, and walked over to her. "So… What did you and Shikamaru talk about just now?"

"Hmm? Why's it matter?" Naruto asked. Ino sighed and shot him a glare, and Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well, we talked about the tree climbing stuff. Why?"

"Well, maybe you could help a pretty girl out?" Ino asked.

Naruto tilted his head a bit, appearing to be in thought. Ino was asking him for help. Now, the gears in Naruto's head turned a bit at this. Ino was constantly belittling Sakura, the apple of his eye. To him, that reason was more than enough not to help her… However, the thought of Asuma's test popped back into his head. Without Ino, getting that book from Kakashi would have been impossible… Well not impossible, but harder… Also, the whole point of the test was teamwork… Meaning that all three of them should be at their best. At least, that's what Naruto figured. He sighed and gave a nod.

"Alright…" Naruto said. "Here's what he told me…"

Ino listened carefully as Naruto explained what Shikamaru could. At least, he did so the best he could. Ino managed to catch the basic grasp of it though. She took a deep breath, and then she too put it to the test. Like Naruto, the distance she climbed had increased greatly. A smile was on the blonde girl's face as she returned to the ground the whole way. She cheered in triumph as she turned to Naruto.

"Not bad! Arigato, Naruto!" Ino exclaimed.

"But… I just told you what Shikamaru told me…" Naruto replied.

"Think about it this way, baka…" Ino sighed. "If you wouldn't have asked Shikamaru, then I would still be struggling! In other words, just take the compliment!"

Naruto hesitated for a moment more. He didn't mind being thanked. In fact, he loved it. It was something the blonde boy had not be told much before. He was about to respond again, when Ino gave him a glare. It was one that reinforced her wanting the boy to accept her thanks. Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. A slight bit of red was on his cheeks.

"No problem, Ino!" he replied.

She gave the boy and approving nod. Soon, all three of the students had returned to their climbing. Unknown to the three however, their sensei had been sitting in a tree a little bit away from them, watching the whole time. Asuma smiled as he lit a cigarette, and then hopped out to go get the group lunch.

"I'm in a rice ball mood for today…" Asuma mused to himself as he walked through the Konoha streets.

As the man made his way towards a quaint little tea house he knew of in the village, he happened to bump into the other two Jounin leaders of this year's Genin teams, Yuhi Kurenai of Team Eight and Hatake Kakashi of Team Seven. Kurenai smiled and greeted the man. Kakashi merely looked up from his book, the one he had to chase Asuma around for the remainder of the day to get back.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted lazily with a wave.

"Hey, guys…" Asuma replied. "What brings you two here?"

"Well, I'm here for lunch after my team just finished passing their test." Kurenai explained.

"More or less the same… Except not from the test. We just finished our first mission, chasing down a rather annoying cat." Kakashi explained. "Then we went our own ways for today."

"You only did one small mission? And then you called it off for the day?" Asuma asked.

"Pretty much. Although I scheduled a training session for Sasuke later on today." Kakashi answered.

"Just Sasuke?" Kurenai asked. "What about the Akimichi boy and Haruno girl?"

"Hmmm? Oh, well… Sasuke is the only one that can truly benefit from this training." Kakashi reasoned. "Chouji and Sakura aren't quite ready for it yet. I'll catch up with them later. Anyways, what about you Asuma? What have you been doing?"

"I'm getting my guys some lunch." the bearded the Jounin explained. "They're over at the training grounds now, hard at work."

"What kind of training can you give them without being there to keep an eye on them?" Kurenai asked.

"I started them on some chakra control exercises." Asuma answered. "It may have been a bit early, but… They seem to be getting the hang of it well."

"I see…" Kakashi replied. "Well… I have to be going. Sasuke is waiting."

"I have to go as well." Kurenai replied. "See you later, Asuma."

Asuma smiled and waved at the two. He finished the last bit of his cigarette he had left, and then made his way into the tea house. He wasn't that happy though. In fact, he was a little angry. Kakashi was going to train Sasuke a private lesson. Not only that, but he assumed that neither of his other two students were going to be able to handle it. It wasn't so much an issue with Chouji, he had a clan to help train him. However, Sakura may be another issue. It was no little known fact that Kazuhiko was not much of a Jounin. So, if Sakura did get a little training, it probably wasn't much. Still, Asuma sighed and went about his business. Even if Kakashi's team was to become unbalanced and faulty, he knew that his team would have a bright future ahead. Asuma assured himself of this. He quickly ordered the lunch for his team, and made his way back to Training Ground #5. However, when Asuma got there, none of them were to be found. He looked about the training field, when suddenly three kunai flew through the air. He quickly jumped back, just narrowly dodging them as they landed in the ground where he stood. Slowly, Asuma looked up at the direction which they came from. A smirk formed across his lips.

"Not bad, huh Asuma-sensei?" Naruto asked proudly.

"I say we did pretty good!" Ino added.

"It wasn't… that troublesome…" Shikamaru concluded.

Asuma's smirk became a smile. Yes, his team had a bright future ahead of them. This was only the beginning.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and anyone else in the Naruto universe don't belong to me.**

**UZUMAKI NARUTO, GENIN OF TEAM TEN**

**CHAPTER 5: THE FIRST MISSION**

"So, what kind of training are we going to do today, Asuma-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm? Oh, we're not going to do any kind of training today, Naruto…" Asuma answered. "We need to focus on another aspect of being a shinobi."

"What's that?" Ino asked her sensei.

"Missions…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Missions? "Oh, that's right… Iruka-sensei did mention something like that…" Naruto replied. A small smile graced his lips. "I bet we'll get some kind of cool mission! Like, maybe we'll get to go save a princess! Or maybe perform some top secret espionage-type-thing!"

Ino giggled a bit at Naruto's excitement. Asuma gave a slight chuckle as well. However, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Even if it was a spy mission, we'd be busted by now." the Nara replied. "Seriously, Naruto… Do you ever take it down to a volume level below ten?"

Naruto shot a glare over to Shikamaru. The boy responded by simply shaking his head and sighing. His usual "troublesome" coming from his lips. Asuma chuckled a bit more, pausing just long enough to light a cigarette. He sighed, putting a hand on both of the boys' shoulder.

"Alright, settle down…" Asuma began. "It's hard to say what kind of mission we're going to get. That's determined by the Hokage."

"The old man gives out missions?" Naruto asked. "Huh… I guess that makes sense. Well, we're pretty tight, so I'm sure we'll get a good one!"

Asuma smiled and continued to lead the group towards the Hokage's tower. In all honesty, he knew that it would more likely than not be what the blonde boy wanted. However, why should he discourage the kid? After all, he was still young. No need to be a dream killer.

It had been a little over a week since the three kids had passed Asuma's test. While Kurenai and Kakashi probably mixed training and some missions here or there, Asuma decided to spend the first week training his team. Now that the first week was over, he decided it was time they spread out into the second part of being a shinobi, which was helping those around them. Of course, a part of Asuma wasn't as thrilled to be going into the tower as Naruto. Mainly because he and his father didn't exactly see eye to eye on all things. However, Asuma figured he would just have to deal with it when the time came.

As the team walked inside, he noticed Naruto's smile faded just a bit. A shiver ran down the man's back as well. Looking up, he noticed a secretary sitting at a desk in the tower lobby. She was glaring at Naruto as the group walked towards her, something that didn't seem to go unnoticed by Shikamaru or Ino either. Ino figured that it probably had something to do with the pranks that the boy was notorious for pulling. Shikamaru thought about the same area, however he sighed and shrugged it off. It was too troublesome to think about what Naruto could have possibly done to annoy someone… Honestly, he knew it didn't take much for the boy to do so anyhow. Asuma cleared his throat as the team arrived in front of the woman's desk, causing her to look away from Naruto and to the Jounin sensei instead. She felt a shiver run down her back from the rather cold glare he sent her.

"Asuma-san… You're here a bit early today, aren't you?" she asked, trying to appear innocent.

"I guess so, Sheena…" Asuma replied with a sigh. "I'm here to see Pops… Is he in?"

"He's in his office as we speak." Sheena answered. "He's been quite busy with assigning missions today…"

"Which is just why we're here." Asuma interrupted. "No need to get up, I'll just head on to the office with my team."

Sheena was about to protest, saying that the group would need to wait their turn. However, Asuma just ignored it. The three Genin could feel the looks of several shinobi still waiting their turn to see the Hokage. It didn't seem to bother Asuma. He figured that since the Sandaime was his father, why bother really having to wait? He was sure the old man could make a little time for family. The team reached the door to the Hokage's office. An ANBU stood on each side of the door. Asuma gave them a lazy wave as he walked opened the door and walked inside. His team following behind the man slowly. As they walked inside, the Hokage glanced up to see who it was. A sigh escaping his lips and a small frown forming across his lips. Asuma gave another lazy wave.

"Yo, Pops… How's it going?" he greeted.

"Are you the only one in the village that can't call me by my title?" the Sandaime sighed in question.

"I just did. You are my old man after all… And pops is a title for that." Asuma reasoned. That comment earned a cold glare from the Sandaime. It was one that Naruto had never seen the old man give. Still, Asuma chuckled and smiled. "Look, I'm here to pick up some missions for my team. That's it, really…"

"Your team?" the Sandaime repeated. He glanced over his desk and noticed the three Genin for the first time. He had to do a double take for Naruto. It was hard to recognize the boy without the color orange thrown all over him. "I see… Well, you do know that I do not begin assigning missions until nine, Asuma. You still have about five more minutes…"

"I can wait." Asuma replied calmly. "Besides, this way I can have pick from the top of the crop."

The Sandaime sighed again, taking a small puff from his pipe. It was at that moment that the door to his office opened again. A shinobi walked into the room, carrying a rather large handful of scrolls in his arms. They were stacked high enough to hide his face, making it hard for the occupants of the room to tell just who it was.

"Here are the scrolls with jobs you asked for, Hokage-sama." the male shinobi said as he gently sat them on the old man's desk. "We have quite a lot to choose from today, so there shouldn't be a rush for a particular kind. At least not this morning, anyhow."

The man turned around, being startled by other people being in the room other than the Hokage. What surprised him most however, was the blonde boy in the room that jumped forward. A proud, fox-like grin stretched across his face.

"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto? Heh… I didn't recognize you without the orange…" Iruka chuckled. "Anyways, I'm here to help out the Hokage with the mission assignments today. How are you doing? I haven't seen you three since you graduated from my class."

"We're fine, Iruka-sensei." Ino answered.

"We've been working hard on our training, that's all!" Naruto added proudly.

"Troublesome and still too loud…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Anyways, we're here just for one of those missions." Asuma cut in. "Got anything good in there, Iruka?"

The Chuunin took a seat by the Hokage and began to look through the various scrolls. Naruto looked on with anticipation, thinking of what kind of mission they could get. Maybe they were going to be sent to explore a new land, or save a fellow shinobi trapped behind enemy lines. He watched as Iruka's eyes lit up. The Chuunin pointed at the scroll, looking over at the Hokage. A smile graced the old man's lips, and he gave a quiet nod.

"Alright… We've got just the job for you." Iruka began. "Arashi Suzu, an herbal specialist in the southern part of the village, is running a bit behind on her harvest for this quarter. Your job will be to assist her in the harvest."

A moment of silence passed between the three Genin. Shikamaru simply sighed, rubbing his right shoulder. However, Ino and Naruto were both standing with widened eyes. Their mouths were hanging open, as if someone punched them in the stomach.

"That's it?" Naruto asked. "That's our mission?! What kind of mission is that?"

"Naruto's right!" Ino shouted in agreement. "That sounds more like some kind of summer afternoon job rather than a mission!"

"It sounds easy…" Shikamaru sighed. "Why are you two making such a big deal out of this?"

"Because it's a crappy sounding mission!" both of the blondes replied.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru groaned.

"Come on, old man!" Naruto pleaded. "You can do better than that, right? Asuma-sensei said the point of these missions were to help people in need! Not be some kind of farmhand or errand boy! I want a real mission! You know, something that could hold the fate of our village… the whole Fire Country in the balance!"

"You're forgetting one thing, kiddoes…" Asuma mused. A smirk was on the man's face. The scene was rather humorous to him in its own way. "This woman is in need of help, so it's our duty to do that."

"But still… Something like this?" Ino asked.

"It's the way it works, I'm afraid." Asuma explained. "The missions are actually divided into five groups. The mission we're taking is a D-Rank mission. It may not be the most glamorous thing in the world, but it is your first mission and you guys are just starting out. In fact, most D-Rank missions are of this kind."

"So when will we be able to get some good work?" Naruto asked.

"When we, by which I mean the Hokage and myself, feel like you're ALL ready." Asuma answered. "Although… You probably won't get that much of a higher ranked mission for sometime… Most Genin only get D-Ranks. Do you get it now?"

"I guess…" Naruto sighed.

"Just think of it this way, Naruto. It's all stepping stones to the title of Hokage." Iruka said. "Not only that, but D-Ranks in themselves are another form of training. It gives you and your team a better chance to work together. The more you work together, the more you'll understand each other more. Not only that, but it does give you some pocket money for finishing it successfully."

"That's pretty much it in a nutshell." Asuma confirmed. "You get it better now, right?"

Naruto nodded somewhat slowly. He seemed to brighten up just a minor bit at this, though it still wasn't the kind of mission he wanted. Asuma thanked the two, and the three made their way to the mission. What they arrived at was a rather small house, one that was close to the outskirts of the village. There weren't many neighboring houses around, and a field of sorts appeared to stretch on behind it. It was a rather peaceful setting actually. Shikamaru smiled, making a mental note to come back to this area once in a while for some peace and quiet. The team made their way to the door. Asuma walked all the way to it, while the three Genin stood a bit back. The Jounin gave the door a light knock. Slowly, it opened to reveal an elderly woman, probably somewhere in her early seventies. A smile graced her lips as Asuma greeted her.

"Are you Arashi Suzu?" Asuma asked politely. The woman gave a nod. "We've been set by the Hokage to help you out with your harvest, just as you requested."

"Good… I was hoping I'd get some help." Suzu replied. She slowly walked to the group of Genin and smiled. "Please, walk this way."

The team began to walk behind the woman, following her to the field near her house. As they walked, Suzu explained that she had been under the weather lately, and simply unable to harvest the herbs grown. She had a slight hacking cough behind her words. If one were to look closely, you'd see a somewhat guilty look on both Naruto and Ino's face.

"I feel about three inches tall…" Naruto whispered.

"Tell me about it…" Ino replied. "I wouldn't have complained if I knew it was going to be like this."

"Sadly, it can be like this." Asuma chimed in quietly. "It's alright to want a more difficult or exciting mission… Sometimes, the one that needs the most help is one that lives within one's own village."

The two blondes remained silent the rest of the way to the field. As they arrived, the three Genin all looked with widened eyes at the sight before them. The field was quite large, with plenty of herbs growing on it. Rows of bushes and other various vegetation stretched on before them.

"That sure is a lot of herbs…" Naruto said with a whistle. "Did you grow all of this yourself?"

"Most of it." Suzu replied kindly. "There used to be more than this, but when my husband passed away, I was forced to lower the amount grown. Anyways, what I need you to do is pick various herbs and berries I have growing in that section over there."

Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru followed her finger as she pointed to the lower-right portion of the field. It was one of the more densely populated portions, an obvious sign that that was where the woman probably grew her more commonly used herbs and such. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head slowly, and turned to Suzu.

"Is there anything in particular that shouldn't be taken yet?" he asked.

"To be honest, it would probably be easier to show you what I need. Please, come with me." Suzu replied. The group nodded, and followed her towards the desired area. She showed them the various bushes and smiled. "I need some of these red berries… and some of the violet ones as well. Leave the green ones for now. They aren't quite ripened yet."

"So red and violet berries, but leave the green ones." Ino repeated. "Anything else?"

"Ah, I also need some of the plants down this way." Suzu continued. She walked a bit away, stopping at rather large patch of plants. They had a bluish tint to them, each one with four, triangle-shaped leaves. "Right here… I know it seems like a lot, but I'm going to need as many as you can fill in these baskets."

She pointed to a small stack of baskets by the trees. They were rather large, though they were more wide than deep. Suzu gave a somewhat apologetic smile, but Naruto and the others simply smiled back, assuring her it was no trouble. She turned to Asuma at this point, and began to walk off towards another portion of the field, explaining something else she needed done. As she left, Shikamaru sighed and bent down to get his basket.

"This is going to be a troublesome job…" he moaned. "Maybe I should've just stayed home."

It was an expected response from the Nara. Both Naruto and Ino laughed a bit as he slowly made his way towards the red berries. The two blondes followed this by grabbing their own basket. Naruto knelt down by the herbs, deciding to start with these first. He grabbed one by the stem, and began to tug on it. It roughly came out of the ground, two of the leaves coming off of it in the process. None of the roots were attached either, something that the woman may have needed. Ino's eyes widened at the sight, and she quickly gave Naruto a smack on the back of the head.

"Baka! You can't just pull like that!" Ino exclaimed.

"Ow… What'd you do that for?!" Naruto asked back.

"Because you're doing it wrong for starters!" Ino answered. She took the herb from Naruto's hand and held it up for him to see. "Didn't you see how they normally look? All four leaves attached, as well as a stem? Plus, you need the roots too. You don't know if she'll need them or not, so it's better to be on the safe side. You can't be rough! You have to be gentle, yet firm. I'll show you."

Naruto watched as Ino knelt down, and gently took one of the plants by the stem. Slowly and carefully, she tugged at the plant. With a quiet, gentle snap, she pulled it out of the ground, and held it up to compare against Naruto's. All four leaves were attached to the plant, as well as the roots. Ino gently sat the plant in her basket.

"Wow… That was pretty good, Ino…" Naruto said. "You seem to know a lot about plants and stuff… Any reason why?"

"Well… My family runs a flower and garden shop in the village. It's kind of a family trade. When we're not training with Asuma-sensei, I usually help out my tousan and kaasan in the shop…" Ino explained. She looked up, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. Naruto had been listening to her intently, not looking away for one moment. Slowly, she coughed and looked away. "A-Anyways, you try it now. Do it just like I showed you."

Naruto nodded, and slowly reached down for a plant. Just like Ino showed him, he began to gently and carefully tug at the plant. However, he still pulled it a little bit too rough. The roots still didn't manage to come out right.

"Crap…" he sighed.

"Well… It wasn't too bad. Here, I'll show you again." Ino told him. Ino hesitated for a moment, but took Naruto's hand. She positioned it around another plant and nodded. The two slowly began to pull again. This time the plant came completely out of the ground, just as the one Ino pulled during her original demonstration. "There! That's how you do it!"

"Heh… Nothing to it." Naruto replied with a small grin. The two sat there for a moment. Slowly, both looked down and saw Ino still holding Naruto's hand. Both quickly released each other, looking away with a blush on their cheeks. "Arigato, Ino. I should be able to handle it from here."

"Right, don't mention it." Ino responded.

A small cough could be heard at that moment. Both blondes slowly turned around and saw Shikamaru looking at them strangely. Slowly, he looked away and rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm not… interrupting anything, am I?" he asked. "Do you guys need a moment alone?" It was only a moment later that Shikamaru was sent crashing to the ground. Two fists being slammed into the back of his head by two blondes. He groaned as he picked himself off the ground, while praising the fact that he left his basket of berries by the bushes. "What are you two doing here, anyways? There's still another kind of berries to go through, plus most of these herbs and the berries I started with… Ino, get started on the last kind so we can maybe get finished before next week…"

Ino huffed, and rose to her feet. Naruto seemed to have the hang of this, so there should be no problem in doing it. The three slowly began to get to work. Shikamaru picked the red berries, Ino picked the violet ones, and Naruto working on harvesting the herbs. Time literally began to feel like it was crawling at that point. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes like hours, hours like days, and so on. They weren't quite sure what time it was when Ino looked up from the current bush she was plucking from, and sighed loudly.

"I feel sorry for Suzu-san, but… This is taking forever!" she exclaimed. "Isn't there anyway at all to make this go faster?!"

"If there is, I'm not sure…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Tell me about it." Naruto added.

Both Ino and Shikamaru paused in their work. Slowly, the two glanced up at each other. Then towards Naruto. They then glanced over towards the herbs that the boy was originally working on pulling, only to see him still over there as well. In other words, the two were seeing Naruto in two places at once.

"Wait a minute…" Ino mused. "Naruto, if you're over here… Then how are you over there?"

"Oh, well… I was feeling like a break, so I sent a Kage Bunshin to take my place for a bit." Naruto explained. He grinned a fox-like grin, closing his eyes in the process. "Not a bad idea, huh?!"

"Actually… It's pretty good." Shikamaru smirked. "Naruto, feel like maybe helping us get done faster?"

"Huh? How?" Naruto asked.

"Simple, genius…" Shikamaru sighed. He really thought it would've been self-explanatory. "Make a bunch of those Bunshin. Send them to work on picking the herbs. Then we can work together on these berries."

"Right! Not a bad idea at all!" Naruto exclaimed.

The boy quickly formed the proper hand sign, and in a cloud of smoke fourteen more copies of Naruto appeared. The true Genin turned around and smiled. He simply gave a nod and pointed to the herb harvesting Kage Bunshin. It was as if they understood exactly what Naruto wanted, and they took off to join their "brother." Asuma was walking around the other side of the house with Suzu at this point, smiling as he saw his team working hard on pulling the red berries. Ino had sat her half basket of violet ones aside, allowing all three to work on one set at a time.

"How's it going, all?" he greeted. "I trust you've all been working hard?"

"Of course!" Ino replied. "We'll be done in no time!"

"But you are all working on the same thing at once…" Suzu commented. "Wouldn't it have made more sense to split up and cover each area at the same time?"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Naruto replied. "We've got your herbs already being taken care of."

The boy pointed over to the plants that were being pulled. Suzu had a shocked look on her face. However, Asuma was smirking. The old woman looked up at the Jounin.

"How… That many…" she began to stammer.

"No worries, Suzu-san." Asuma said with a chuckle. "It's merely a technique of my student's. Basically, those copies are helping him out by harvesting your herbs."

"Do they know what they're doing though?" Suzu asked cautiously, glancing at Naruto.

"Of course!" Naruto replied. "They know what I know. Ino taught me how to pull them just right, so they should have no problems."

Ino had a slight blush on her cheeks from Naruto drawing attention to her. Both Suzu and Asuma noticed this, a small laugh being shared because of it. Still, Asuma was amazed Naruto knew that much about the Kage Bunshin already.

"Well if you guys are ready, how about we take a lunch break?" Asuma suggested.

A growl escaping the stomachs of the three Genin didn't have to tell Asuma much else. The team settled down under the shade of a large tree near the field. A lunch of dango and tea waiting for them, made by Suzu herself. They thanked the woman, and settled down for the lunch. Ino was curious about one thing though.

"Suzu-san? How come you grow all those herbs and berries?" Ino asked. "I mean, what do you do with them?"

"Well… If you really want to know, I study them and make medicines and poisons for the village shinobi." Suzu replied. "My husband and I both used to be shinobi for the village, and you could say we were experts on them. After my husband passed away and I retired from active service, I still continued to grow and produce. I guess in a way you could say I never retired."

"So, do they still use the stuff you make?" Naruto asked.

"Indeed they do." Suzu answered, smiling at the boy. "Although, most of my work I do now is simply for a hobby than a duty."

After lunch, the team returned to the harvest once more. They worked hard through out the afternoon, all the way until the sun was setting. Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru were tired, dirty, and sweaty. However, the mission was finally complete. Suzu thanked the team for their hard work, and they sat off for the Hokage's tower to report the success. The Sandaime smiled and congratulated the team, encouraging them to come back tomorrow for another mission. The team left the tower shortly afterwards, stopping outside the front. Asuma cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the three before they could leave. He smiled as he put a backpack before them, one he had been wearing for most of the day.

"Good work today, guys." Asuma began. "I know that the work was hard, but I had intended for it to be that way."

"What do you mean, Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.

"It's just like Iruka explained. In a way, these D-Rank missions can be used as training. That's just what this mission did." Asuma explained. "Strength, stamina, perseverance… You all got trained in all three today, whether you realized it or not. So, since you all did well, I'd like to give you a reward of sorts."

He opened his backpack, and began to rummage around for something. A smirk formed as he appeared to find what he had been searching for. The three Genin watched curiously as he pulled out strange, beige-colored, objects. Ino's eyes narrowed as she examined the items carefully.

"What are these supposed to be Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked.

"Weights." the Jounin explained. "They were a gift from a friend, something he gave to me when he found out I was going to be training a Genin team this year. I want you all to wear them from now until further notice.

"Wear them?" Shikamaru asked.

"That's what I said." Asuma replied. He took a moment to hand them out to his team "It's quite simple, really. I have two weights for each of you, and you are to put them around your ankles."

"You're kidding, right?" Ino asked.

"Nope." Asuma replied. "Don't worry. I made sure to start you off light."

"I think they're kind of cool!" Naruto exclaimed.

The team looked over to see that the blonde had already strapped them around his ankles just as instructed. Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his shoulder slowly.

"Naruto, do you even know what they do?" he asked.

"Well… Not really…" Naruto replied sheepishly. Both Ino and Shikamaru sighed at this. "Well, what are they for?"

"Basically, they are going to help us train you all in speed." Asuma explained. "Shinobi must be strong, but they need to be speedy as well. With these, we'll technically always be able to train, even when we're not together."

"See? What'd I tell ya?" Naruto said to Shikamaru.

"So, we really have to wear these?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Well, you don't have to… I can always train in you speed the long, hard, and troublesome way." Asuma mused, smiling at the Nara. Shikamaru grumbled as he strapped his weights on. "Anyways, let's meet here again tomorrow to take on some more missions. I'd like to see you all here around nine in the morning."

The team nodded and began to separate for the evening once more. They appeared to be moving a little slower than normal, though that may have very well been because of the weights, as well as their fatigue to boot. Asuma smiled to himself as he headed for home, the smoke from his cigarette flying up into the evening sky.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and anyone else in the Naruto universe don't belong to me.**

**UZUMAKI NARUTO, GENIN OF TEAM TEN**

**CHAPTER 6: A STEP UP**

Naruto sighed as he jabbed a stick through an empty tin can. Even after hearing the importance of D-Rank missions, the boredom just never went away. Also, with every mission that seemed to come their way, they seemed to be more and more like summer jobs. The three Genin had been through a variety of jobs so far. They babysat, painted a house, did yard work, hunted down a very agitated cat at least four times, did grocery shopping, and now were hard at work picking up litter that had been building up in the park of Konoha. Needless to say, these missions were tedious and seemed to just drag on forever. Also, Asuma's newest addition to the groups training, the weights he gave them earlier, seemed to just get in the way. Still, the Jounin assured the group that in the end it would all be worth it.

Asuma on the other hand, was proud of his team's progress so far. The group had mastered tree climbing completely. They were now averaging about two to three missions a day. Ino and Shikamaru were slowly getting the hang of them, and Naruto had already had to have his adjusted. Of course, the boy had a little help in the healing and stamina department, but all that meant to the Jounin was that he could handle more intense training for longer periods. The Jounin watched the three while finishing a smoke. His mind going through various thoughts on the three, when suddenly a sigh from the Nara snapped him out of his thoughts.

"There…" Shikamaru muttered, stuffing a piece of paper into a sack hanging off his right shoulder. "We're finally done…"

"Good work, all. This park is really looking good now." Asuma replied as he walked forward to rejoin his team. He paused and glanced down at a watch that was around his left wrist. A small smile graced his lips. "Good news, too. We have just enough time to take another mission. Let's get to back to the tower."

The group nodded, and made their way back to the tower. Just like before they simply walked past the secretary, who still shot a glare at Naruto as they walked by. The group walked into the old man's office, Iruka was once again assisting him for the day. The Sandaime sighed as he saw it was Asuma once more, still just barging in without even knocking.

"Heya, Pops." Asuma greeted. "Another mission complete."

"I see…" the old man sighed. He looked at the three Genin and smiled. "You three seem to be going through the missions quite quickly these days. Quite impressive, to say the least."

"I suppose so…" Asuma agreed. "How about giving us another mission? I think we're up for one."

"Sure thing." Iruka replied, after receiving a quick nod from the Hokage. "Let's see what we have here… Kazama Izumi could use a babysitter for her twins… A certain cat has gone missing again… Hiruma Gohei could use some help digging holes for his sweet potatoes…"

"Actually… I think I'd like to go through the list and pick…"

Asuma interrupted. Iruka looked back to the Hokage. The old man gave a nod, and Asuma walked forward, beginning to read through the various missions that were on the scroll. Naruto and the others watched with interest as Asuma appeared to be carefully reading the line-up. They weren't expecting that the man would want to hand pick a job, but he tended to be full of surprises. At least, that's what he had seemed to show them so far. A smile spread across the Jounin's lips as he pointed to a mission. Iruka looked it over, and a look of concern appeared on his face.

"Are you sure, Asuma?" he asked. "They haven't been Genin that long…"

"Asuma-sensei? What kind of mission is it?" Naruto asked.

"Your sensei seems to think you guys are ready to try a C-Rank mission." Iruka answered. "However, he seems to be forgetting that these types of missions are usually reserved for shinobi of the Chuunin level…"

"Hey, I remember you saying earlier if I felt they were ready, then they could take on a higher ranked mission." Asuma replied. "Well, I checked, and I think they are."

"Do you have any proof?" the Sandaime asked.

"You bet I do." Asuma replied. "For one example, look through your records. You'll see that my team has taken more missions than any of the other Genin teams that graduated this year. Not only have they taken more, but all of them managed to be a success. That includes the ones that involved chasing down that damned cat."

"He's right, Iruka-san…" the Sandaime replied, looking into a folder.

"Well, he is… But…" Iruka began. "I'm just worried about their safety. As their former sensei, I…"

"Exactly, Iruka." Asuma cut in. "Former… But the second you gave my guys their hitai-ate, you gave me supervision of them. I'm in charge of their well-being and deciding if they're ready. I think they are. What about you, Pops?"

The team looked on as the Hokage appeared to be in thought. Naruto and Ino both leaned forward, as if their life depended on the answer. Shikamaru honestly didn't seem to care one way or the other. Small rings of smoke rose from his pipe as he sighed.

"Very well… If Asuma believes that his team is ready… Then we will let you attempt this mission." the Sandaime declared.

"Alright!" Naruto and Ino both declared. "Finally something exciting!"

"Whoo…" Shikamaru celebrated with significantly less enthusiasm.

"Come on, Shikamaru!" Naruto replied. "Aren't you excited to finally be done with those D-Ranks?"

"I dunno… I guess it depends on how troublesome this mission turns out to be." Shikamaru replied. "Now, why don't you two quiet down so we can hear what it is."

Naruto and Ino glared at the boy, but turned around to face the Hokage again. The old man chuckled a bit as he watched the three. Even though it didn't seem like it, he was definitely seeing strong bonds developing between the three.

"The mission your sensei has chosen for you is a C-Rank, as you already know." the Sandaime began. "This mission will involve the escort and protection of a certain individual. You will be escorting him from this village to another one."

"Is it someone important?" Ino asked quickly.

"I bet it's some great lord! Or maybe a princess!" Naruto replied with excitement.

"Troublesome blondes… Always too loud…" Shikamaru sighed.

"Calm down… If you want to accept this higher difficulty mission, then act like you are ready." the Sandaime said. This caused Naruto and Ino to both quiet down immediately. Shikamaru sighed again, while Asuma smirked. The Hokage chuckled once more. "Alright then… Please send the client in and we will begin the introduction."

Naruto and Ino looked on in anticipation. The door to the office slowly opened, and the first thing that could be heard was slightly… haggard cough. It wasn't a lord or princess that came into the room. Rather, it was an older, poorer looking man. He was wearing a pair of yellow pants with various black lines running through them, giving off a checkered design. A thin, brown t-shirt of sorts rested on his upper body. He had gray hair, with a gray beard and moustache combo to match. A pair of glasses rested on his face, and a rope belt around his waste. Naruto's nose wrinkled up a bit as the smell of booze just seemed to reek off the man. It was really no surprise judging from the bottle of sake in his hand. He glanced around the room, his eyes narrowing at the team of Genin before him.

"You're kidding me… Right?" the man asked. "Your putting my life in the hands of a bunch of squirts? Especially the blondes… Neither one of them look like they could find their way out of a paper sack with a map, guide, and a flashlight."

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his forehead. The silence that entered the room was one that immediately gave the boy a headache. It was probably because he knew what was coming. Both Naruto and Ino glared at the man… A small spark of fire sat off in their eyes…

"I'll kill him!" both Naruto and Ino shouted.

They began to run towards the man, fists ready to strike. Asuma smirked as he quickly grabbed both of the blondes by the collars of their shirts, and pulled them to the ground. He knelt down to their level, placing a hand on both of their heads.

"Please… I'm giving you both a shot with this mission. Let's try to protect our client like ordered and not kill him, okay?" he asked the two. The two nodded and Asuma smiled, patting both of them on the head. He looked up at the client, smiling weakly. "Gomen… They may seem a little… unprepared, but I assure you my guys can handle this mission."

"Heh… very well." the man replied. "Listen up, kids. My name is Yoshuki Tazuna, master architect of ultimate renown. And until I get to my homeland, the Land of Waves, you runts are to be in charge of protecting me. Even if it costs you your lives."

"Talk about being overly dramatic…" Shikamaru muttered with a sigh, one that seemed to go unnoticed by all.

"I promise my team will give you their all, Tazuna-san." Asuma said. He turned to the three Genin and nodded. "Alright guys, our mission will begin in about an hour. Go pack up the essentials, kunai, shuriken, sleeping bags… You get the idea. Oh, and that doesn't mean a backpack full of ramen, Naruto. We'll meet at the village gates in one hour."

The three nodded, and packed exactly as the sensei instructed. Although, Naruto did somewhat begrudgingly. It didn't really take the three that long to get what they needed, and they soon found themselves waiting at the village gates with a little extra time to spare.

"Man… Even if it is a guy like that… I'm so stoked for this mission!" Naruto declared. "I bet if we do this one right with no screw ups at all, we'll never have to do another stupid D-Rank again!"

"Don't you think you may be exaggerating a bit, Naruto?" Ino sighed.

"Well… Maybe." Naruto shrugged. "But, I bet we won't get them as much as we had been!"

Ino smiled a bit at her teammate's excitement. To be honest, she was hoping to do as good a job on this mission as he was. The Yamanaka was getting quite bored with the D-Ranks too, and this mission seemed to pump her up some too.

"Well, let's just try our best. Alright, Whiskers?" Ino suggested.

"You bet!" Naruto replied. That's when something registered in his mind. "Wait, what?"

"Did you just call him… Whiskers?" Shikamaru asked.

"That's right!" Ino replied. "I thought that since we were going to be going on missions like these now, we could use something like… codenames."

"Codenames? What for?" Naruto asked.

"Simple, baka…" Ino sighed. "Imagine we go into an enemy's territory. We can't use our normal names. We need to use codes and stuff. That ways, we'll know exactly what we mean when we talk, but no one else will."

"Huh…" Naruto replied. He seemed to be analyzing the whole thing for a moment, before blinking slowly. "So… If I'm Whiskers, what about you the rest of us?"

"Well, Asuma-sensei will be Smokey." Ino began. "Obviously because of his smoking. Shikamaru, your codename will be Sloth, on account of how lazy you are."

"Troublesome blonde…" he sighed. He glared at Naruto, who was in the middle of fighting back a batch of giggling. "Alright then… What about you?"

"Obviously, since I thought of this, I should b-" Ino began.

"INO-PIG!!" a voice interrupted her.

The three Genin looked over to see Team Seven, minus Kakashi approaching them. Sakura was smirking at Ino. She quickly latched herself around Sasuke's arm. Ino's eyes narrowed at the sight. Sasuke sighed, trying to pull himself away, until his eyes met Naruto's. Both of the boys began to scowl at each other. Chouji, the only seemingly normal member of the team, was simply eating out of a bag of chips. He gave a smile and wave at Team Ten. Shikamaru was the only one not too busy at the time to return the wave. It was a lazy wave, but a wave all the same.

"What are you doing here, Billboard-Brow?" Ino asked.

"We were on our way for a meeting with Kakashi-sensei." Sakura answered. She then noticed that the three's backpacks, and smirked again. "What's with the backpacks, Ino-pig? Are you and your team so bad their kicking you out of the village?"

"Actually… The opposite." Ino smiled. "We're so good, that the Hokage gave us a C-Rank mission!"

"No way!" Sakura replied. "How can you… a lazy bum like Shikamaru, and that dobe be ready for a C-Rank?! We have Sasuke-kun on our team, and we're still doing D-Ranks! There is no way you guys can have one!"

"It's true, Sakura-chan!" Naruto spoke up. "We're on our way to our very first C-Rank! You know… when we get back I can tell you all about it. Maybe over a bowl of ramen? Like a date?"

"Not on your life!" Sakura snapped, punching the blonde boy in the back of the head.

"Hey! Don't punch my teammate like that!" Ino shouted, helping Naruto to his feet.

"Oooh… I didn't know you had a thing for him, Ino-pig…" Sakura taunted. "I guess one good baka deserves another, right Sasuke-kun?"

The pink-haired girl waited for her teammate to say something. However, all she got was silence. Quickly, the girl spun around just in time to see Sasuke making his way towards the team's meeting place. Sakura ran forward a bit.

"Sasuke-kun, where are you going?!" she shouted.

"To find Kakashi." the boy said, stopping for a minute. He turned around, glaring daggers at Naruto, before turning back. "If the dobe can get a C-Rank, I can too."

Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to walk on once more. Sakura glared at Ino and Naruto, before she ran off to catch up to Sasuke. One could see his shoulders slump as she latched on to his arm again, as well as seeing him try to pull away. Shikamaru sighed at the whole display, rubbing his right shoulder in the process.

"What a drag, Chouji… I thought I got stuck with troublesome teammates…" he said.

"I guess… They're so weird to be around… I mean, Sasuke just sulks all the time, and Sakura… Well, it's always Sasuke this, and Sasuke that. Then she treats me like crap if I even try to talk to her or something… She even got mad at me for beating Sasuke in a sparring match once. She said I must've cheated or something."

"Ahh… She's just trying to find something to put the blame on…" Naruto muttered. "I always knew Sasuke was nothing that special!"

Shikamaru and Chouji's eyes widened at the boy's comments. They braced themselves, waiting for Ino to punch Naruto or something for his comment. However, they never came. Instead, she appeared to be mad at Sakura and possibly Sasuke, not Naruto. The boys shrugged it off, and Chouji sighed.

"Well, I better get going. Kakashi-sensei will probably be late. I better not join his little club." he said. "Hey, let's get together when you three get back from your mission. It'll be just like old times."

Shikamaru and Ino both nodded. The Akimichi boy finished his chips, and quickly ran off to find his team. Naruto was a little surprised by the scene. It wasn't so much the fact that Sakura turned him down… again. Nor was it the fact that she punched him. Rather, it was the fact that Ino was so quick to stand up for him. He turned and glanced at Ino, deciding to find out.

"Ino… Not that I mind or anything, but… Why did you stand up for me like that?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked back.

"Well, it's just… You never did something like that before… So, why did you do it now?" he continued.

Ino hesitated for a moment. She could feel her face turning red, and quickly looked away for a moment. She didn't know why the boy asking her this was bothering her so much, but knew she had to answer him.

"Well… We're teammates, right?" Ino asked. Naruto gave a nod. "Well, that means we gotta look out for each other, baka. After all, a team is no good when we're not at one hundred percent, right?"

"I guess so…" Naruto replied. He thought about it for a moment, and realized she was right. The only reason the group had made it this far, and was already getting a C-Rank was thanks to how they had been able to work together so far. A fox-like smile spread across his face as he nodded. "You're right!"

"Of course I am!" Ino agreed.

Shikamaru watched the exchange between the two for a moment. Something about Ino seemed different. Sure, he had known her for quite a while, but still… Maybe this time away from Sakura and Sasuke was doing her some good. He was soon snapped out of his thoughts when Tazuna and Asuma finally arrived at the gates. The Jounin smiled as he took a puff from his cigarette, and looked his team over.

"Alright, gang. Is everyone ready?" he asked. The team nodded. "Well then, let's get this show on the road."

"Finally! Let's get going!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air excitedly. "Road trip time!"

"Road trip?" Shikamaru asked, wincing from the boy's shouting.

"Well, this is the first time I've ever been outside the village gates." Naruto explained. "It's gonna be like walking into a different world!"

Tazuna sighed, glancing back at Naruto. A scowl was evident on the old man's face as he took a swig from his sake bottle and groaned.

"You're way too loud, kid." the man said. "Am I really supposed to believe that I'm putting my life in the hand of a moron like this?"

"He's just a little over-excited, that's all. You shouldn't have much to worry about. After all, I'll be coming along on this mission as well. I am a Jounin, you know." Asuma explained to Tazuna. He gave a nod to the old man and walked back to Naruto. "Naruto, I know you're excited, but keep it down. This is an escort mission, after all. And while it is just a C-Rank mission, you still don't need to alert any potential threats to our current location. You want to make a good impression on the Hokage, right?"

Naruto looked down for a moment, but suddenly looked up at the Jounin. He smiled at the man, giving him an affirmative nod. Asuma returned the nod, and returned to the front of the group once more. The boy glared a bit at Tazuna, but he let it go. He really wanted to rip into the old fart. He wanted to let Tazuna know that he wasn't going to take any crap. But, he knew that Asuma was right too. Plus, he did want to do a good job on this mission. Tazuna would get off… For now. The group fell into a silence for a bit as they walked. Ino didn't much care for it, and decided to try and make conversation.

"So… Tazuna-san…" the girl began. "You said you were an architect, right?"

"That's right. What of it?" Tazuna asked.

"Well, is there something you've built recently that's been pretty interesting?" Ino continued. "Or maybe something you're in the middle of?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." the old man replied. "Well… not really something big. But a project that is. It's nothing probably any of you would be interested in though."

Ino sighed as the man walked on, taking another swallow from his sake bottle. That proved to be a rather dull conversation. Well, if the old man wouldn't talk, then she could still talk to Asuma. She had a question about the Land of Waves anyhow. Especially since she had never been there before. So, the girl looked up to her sensei.

"Asuma-sensei, the Land of Waves is in a different country, right? Doesn't the village have its own shinobi?" she asked. "I mean, wouldn't it have made more sense if they were escorting Tazuna-san? Not that I'm ungrateful, but…"

"I understand what you mean, Ino…" Asuma replied. "The funny thing is, the Land of Waves does not have it's own shinobi."

"It's not as rich as other countries, like the Land of Fire." Tazuna cut in. "So usually if we require the aid of shinobi, we make a request in advance."

The group noticed that Tazuna seemed to be a bit… tense on the subject. It was almost as if the conversation was bothering him. And despite him bringing out the information of his homeland possibly being a bit… well… poor and of his freewill, he seemed to speak of it with anger and regret. Asuma shrugged it off and continued.

"You see, most countries on this continent have shinobi villages like Konoha to serve as a military force of sorts. They take care of their own people, while doing other things. You know, like handling relations with other countries. All though there are exceptions, most villages don't answer to the rulers of their native countries. Instead, they share equal footing, and have their own heads to rule them, like the Hokage." Asuma explained. "Now, small island nations, while some may be poorer, have no need for a shinobi village. Anyone care to guess why?"

"Because mounting an invasion there would be way too troublesome…" Shikamaru replied. "It's in the middle of nowhere, why bother?"

"Right." Asuma responded. "So, basically we probably won't have to worry about many, if any enemy shinobi. Our destination happens just to be one of those little islands nations. So, no worries."

Naruto tried his best to follow along here and there, but he did find the whole lecture a little boring. Still, the blonde boy did manage to learn something. However, most of the conversation, he rather paid attention to the sights about him. For the most part, the scenery looked the same as the forest within Konoha. Trees everywhere you looked, dirt path to walk on, and a clear look at the sky. There was one thing that did catch his interest though. Along the dirt path, was a small puddle of water. It was a rather odd one at that. Something about it just didn't add up.

"Asuma-sensei… Has it rained lately?" the blonde boy asked.

"Hmm? Not that I'm aware of…" Asuma replied. He paused in his steps to light another cigarette, glancing down to where the boy was looking. "In fact, it's been pretty dry this month… Let's keep moving… Alright?"

The three Genin looked at Asuma carefully. He had a rather calm, happy look on his face. Yet, his voice was serious and cautious. Asuma raised an eyebrow at the three, taking a slow puff from his cigarette. The three Genin began to move closer to Tazuna, forming a triangle-shaped guard around him. A gentle breeze began to blow through the air. Asuma could hear the sound of water moving, and he felt a different chakra in the air. He slowly took a drag off his cigarette, and flicked it out immediately. Asuma then smirked and quickly turned to his team.

"Everyone, duck!" the Jounin shouted.

All three Genin and Tazuna did as told. Almost in a flash, a figure rose out of the water and charged straight for the group. It was hard to tell what it was exactly. The figure moved in such a blur that the three Genin and old man barely had time to duck. Asuma quickly spun around, pulling a pair of trench knives from his pockets. The sound of steel could be heard clanging. Naruto and the others gazed up to see what was going on. Two figures were standing on each side of Asuma. It was kind of hard to make out their body types and such. The cloaks and strange headgear both were wearing made sure of that. What was obvious however, was the weaponry they both used. A long chain extended from their cloaks. Each one of the mysterious strangers seemed to be holding onto an end of it. The two attackers chuckled as they looked at their work. The two of them circled around Asuma several times, binding his hands and trench knives completely. The Genin watched with widened eyes as the two suddenly snapped their wrists forward. A loud rip seemed to echo across the area, as Asuma's arms came flying out of their sockets. The two strangers smirked and launched themselves at the literally disarmed Jounin, smashing him into his face with clawed, sinister looking hands. Slowly, the duo turned away from remained of Asuma's body and smirked at the sight of the three Genin and Tazuna.

"N-No way…" Naruto stammered. "They took Asuma-sensei down like he was nothing!"

"We saw, baka!" Shikamaru replied, a slightly more worried tone in his voice replacing the usual lazy one.

His eyes quickly shifted over to Tazuna, narrowing slightly. The man was scared, that was obvious. However… He didn't seem to be surprised about this attack. In fact, it appeared as if he was expecting it. He was snapped out his thoughts though, as the sight of Naruto drawing a kunai entered his line of vision. He opened his mouth to speak, but was beaten to the punch by Ino.

"Naruto! What are you doing?!" the girl demanded to know. "You can't be seriously thinking of fighting these guys, can you?! You saw what they did to Asuma-sensei, didn't you?!"

"I know what we saw, Ino!" Naruto replied. "But what else can we do? If they did that to Asuma-sensei, then they'll have no problem getting us! So, instead of just standing around… I'm gonna fight back!"

"Troublesome blonde… You're not going to be able to much alone, even with Kage Bunshin." Shikamaru sighed.

"Maybe not…" Naruto replied. A small smirk stretched across his lips as he looked to the two attackers, and then back at Shikamaru. "I just need them to hold still for a bit."

Naruto quickly turned back to the attackers as the two raced forward once more. Shikamaru looked at Naruto in confusion for only a half second, before a smirk lined his face as well. He knew exactly what Naruto was hinting at, and quickly jumped away from the group. Ino looked back and forth between Naruto and the retreating Nara. She wasn't quite sure what the duo was up to, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to either. Ino felt her knees shaking quickly. Her eyes shifted back to Naruto, who quickly leapt into the air, and hurled his kunai as hard as he could. The two men were literally right on top of Ino and Tazuna, ready to go in for another kill. Suddenly, the two felt a snag. Someone or something was pulling back on their chain. The two of them looked back to see Naruto's kunai had snagged itself into the middle of the chain, and was flying straight back into a tree.

"What the hell?" one of them asked.

"It's just a kunai thrown by a kid!" the other one replied. "Just pull!"

"What about that one kid running away?" the first one asked back.

"We'll get him later, now pull!" his partner snapped.

The two attackers began to pull furiously. Naruto smirked as he fell back to the ground, and quickly formed a single hand sign. In a cloud of smoke, two Kage Bunshin appeared by his side. The three of them landed on the ground and dashed straight for one of the attackers. The two clones delivered a heavy kick to his face, while the real Naruto dropped a kick straight into his stomach. A snap was heard, as the man's claw was sent flying off, revealing a normal hand. He skidded across the ground, groaning in pain. His partner smirked quickly, and detached his claw. He jumped away from Naruto and his two Kage Bunshin partners, readying a barrage of kunai to be tossed. A kunai rested between a finger and thumb, totaling for a eight in all. He quickly leaned back, smirking as he began to launch them. However, as he lunged his arms forward, he found that he suddenly could not move. The attacker struggled to move, but to no avail.

"W-What the hell is going on?!" he demanded to know, looking at Naruto with hate filled eyes.

"Heh… That'd be my teammate, Shikamaru." Naruto answered.

"It was a troublesome, dangerous set up…" Shikamaru muttered. "Let's hope for a better set up next time."

"And maybe for a better eye on more than just one foe!" Tazuna shouted.

Naruto and Shikamaru quickly looked up just in time to see the attacker that Naruto and his Bunshin took out zooming straight for Tazuna and Ino. Another claw-like weapon rested over his hand, though this one did not have a kunai attached to it. Naruto's Kage Bunshin quickly began to run towards the duo, but they missed the shuriken the foe launched at them.

"Damn it! Naruto, move!" Shikamaru shouted.

Naruto gave a quick nod and began to run as fast as he could towards Ino and Tazuna. However, it didn't take long before all four of them knew that Naruto wasn't going to make it in time. Ino eyes widened, and she braced herself quickly for a painful death. Despite everything so far, she couldn't bring herself to move. Her mind was screaming orders, but her body just not listening. Her eyes quickly snapped shut… but death never came. Slowly, Ino's eyes opened just in time to see Asuma holding back the enemy with one of his trench knives. He quickly brought his other knife around, and slammed it into the man's arm, slicing it off quite effectively. He finished off the attack with a powerful punch to the face sending the man falling back to the ground. He was out cold. Slowly, Asuma turned to face the other mystery man.

"Do you surrender?" he asked calmly. The remaining attacker gave a nod. Asuma sighed deeply, and turned back to Ino. "Gomen, Ino. Had I had known that you were going to freeze up like that, I would've stepped back in sooner."

Ino gave a silent nod, and sighed. Her eyes widened at a thought, and glanced back over to where the two attackers had taken down Asuma earlier. Only instead of his body parts being scattered about, a sliced up log was there. The group began to clean up the area, Asuma securing both of the attackers to a tree.

"That takes care of that!" Naruto said confidently.

"Are you guys alright?" Asuma asked the two boys. Both gave a nod. "Good. I'd hate for both of you to be taken down by two, low level Chuunin… Although I would like to go on about this, I'm afraid we haven't got the time… Tazuna-san… Is there something you'd like to share with us?"

"Wh-What do you mean?" the old man asked.

"Well, this is just a C-Rank mission, old man." Asuma replied. He paused, and lit a cigarette. A small ring of smoke escaping his lips as he puffed. "We shouldn't have really even have had to deal with enemy shinobi… And I don't think they just appeared for no reason… That, and you have a guilty look on your face. It's almost as if you know something was up. Let's hear it."

"I don't know anything." Tazuna said quickly.

The old man shook his head, and backed away slowly. The gruff, uncaring look returned to his face, and he took a quick swallow from his sake bottle. Asuma sighed, and looked back to Ino.

"Alright, then we'll find out another way." Asuma said. "I'm sure our Yamanaka resident can use her family jutsu to find out. She'll just go in your mind, and go through all your secrets and memories until she finds it. Either way, we will know the truth."

"Fine…" Tazuna sighed. "I'll tell you…"


End file.
